A Kaleidoscope's Blessing
by Empty Boundaries
Summary: Kazuma Satou decides to choose the Second Magic as his ability. Rescued from being subsumed by the Root by a certain Wizard Marshall, he is forced to navigate a World with ridiculous mechanics, insane Divine Spirits, distorted party members, while attempting to master the Operation of Parallel Worlds along the way.
1. 「 」

**AN:** Due to a series of events that happened in his personal life, Wuji can longer write fanfiction. Though I managed to persuade him to give me his stories, so that I may continue where he left off. So, I'll try my best to emulate his writing style and do his stories proud!

* * *

"Satou Kazuma-san, welcome to the after-life. Unfortunately, you have died. It might be short, but your life is over."

The boy awoke to a plain white room. Really, it was almost clichéd.

In the room was a set of office desk and chair, and there sat the one who so callously stated such a ridiculous and frightening thing. If there were any sort of divine entity that existed, that form would suit it. Her beauty was one that surpassed any human limitations, so much that it was inhumane. Perfection should not exist, but somehow that concept applied to the goddess in the shape of a girl.

With silky blue hair and curves in all the right places and a youthful beauty, she should be an object of admiration. The hagoromo she was clad in gave off an unearthly feeling. It only made everything more suspicious in the boy's eyes. Such things should not exist, and if they did, they wouldn't possess or understand any of the 'common sense' of humanity. That, or getting too involved in the works of Kinoko Nasu was making him paranoid.

The Divine Spirit, for what else could she be, blinked her eyes which were the same aqua blue color of her hair, staring at the boy as if awaiting some kind of reaction. His mind tried to recall the last thing that happened...

* * *

It was rare for Kazuma Satou to venture outside.

In order to purchase a limited first release version of a popular online game, he decided that sacrificing a few hours of sleep to queue up early was worth it.

Society addressed people like him as hikikomoris, and he didn't care. The price of social stigma was somewhat worthwhile in exchange for the ultimate act of escapism. Sure, he's labeled as 'a burden to society' and all that, but it never really mattered in the end.

Like millions of other people in this country and billions of other people on this planet, he was going to have been born, been raised, lived, grown old, and died, all without ever having once left the 'box'. The 'cage'. The prison with a thousand names – 'society', 'the human condition' and 'common sense' being the best-known examples.

His games, novels and other entertainment proved a brief reprieve from the constraints of the box.

 _ **An endless, grassy plain under an endless, brilliant sky, stretching out to**_

 _ **the horizon in every direction**_

And how could the dull, uninteresting world inside the 'box' compare to _that_ – an idealised fantasy, further removed than anything else in the universe from a world which could not allow itself to be both happy and mundane?

After acquiring the game, it was time to enjoy the spoils. Of course, as per Murphy's Law, something prevented Kazama from doing that.

 _'The first world hazard of staring at your phone as you cross a road.'_

After seeing the lights turn green, the girl didn't bother check the traffic and crossed the road, ignoring the old adage of ' _look before you cross_ '.

A large shadow loomed over her, like the shadow of her inevitable departure from this world.

Really, it shouldn't have concerned him. After all, death is unavoidable. It happens every day, with millions taking their final breaths, perhaps been hurled into the void a little earlier than they would have liked. But even he wasn't nihilistic enough to let someone walk to their death. After all, wasn't that a noble ideal: to grant **salvation** to all those that need it?

' _Hah, what a foolish idea._ '

* * *

Of course, this could just be a dying dream, a half-assed hallucination conjured up by oxygen deprivation as he bled out.

"… Can I ask one thing?"

The goddess nodded in response to his question.

"Please go ahead."

"… That girl… that was knocked away by me, is she still alive?"

If that girl survived, it would be his first and last worthy act, something that benefited the life of someone other than himself.

"She lives! But her injury was bad, she fractured her leg."

"I see."

Seeing the boy acting relieved, the goddess tilted her head and said:

"But, she would not had been hurt if you didn't knocked her away."

"…What?"

"That tractor would had stopped before hitting that girl. That was expected, it was just a slow tractor after all. That means your unnecessary meddling by acting like a hero made things worse… Pu he he!"

Just as he expected. Even in this dying dream, he was still mercilessly mocked.

"Tractor? Not a truck?"

"That's right, a tractor. If a truck was speeding towards that girl, she would had noticed and got away."

"How did I die then?"

"You died from shock. You thought you were run over by a truck and went into shock. I had been doing this for a long time, but you are the first to die so unnaturally!"

'…'

"Because of your close call with the tractor, you lost consciousness, shat yourself and were sent to a nearby hospital. In that order. As the doctors and nurses were saying 'What's with this guy, how useless– (lol)' amidst laughter, you did not regain consciousness and your heart failed…"

"You bitch, you're almost as bad as a certain fake priest! Are you the goddess of evil or something?"

The girl walked to his side and cupped his ears, smiling deviously.

"Your family had reached the hospital, but before they felt the sadness from their loss, they couldn't help bursting into laughter after hearing your cause of death…"

' _I see now. She is truly a Divine Spirit, holding such a distorted view of the world. So she delights in partaking in my suffering then? I'll show her!'_

Looking down at the murderous scowl on Kazuma's face the girl covered her mouth and laughed.

"… Well, that ends my de-stressing session. First time we met, Satou Kazuma-san. My name is Aqua. I am a goddess that guides young people who die in Japan… Now, putting aside how funny your demise was, you have two options."

 _'let me guess, some kind of 'an offer I can't refuse', right?'_

"First would be reincarnating and beginning a new life. The other option would be staying in a place sort of like heaven and live the life similar to an old folks home."

' _How laconic'_

"Eh, well… How is the place that is sort of like heaven? More importantly, what do you mean by old folks home?"

"Heaven isn't as great as you humans imagined. You don't need to eat after dying and won't be able to make anything naturally. There aren't any ingredients or necessities for you to use anyway. I am sorry if I disappointed you, but there is nothing in heaven. No television, no manga and no games, there are only other people who died before you. And since you are dead, you can't do anything kinky, you can't since you don't even have a body. The only thing you can do is bask in the sun with your predecessors and chat. Forever."

He kept his face impassive, waiting for the inevitable offer.

The goddess snorted at his attempt to seem impassive and said:

"Hey, you don't want to go to a boring place like heaven right? But asking you to let go of all your memories and start again as a baby is the same as

erasing your existence since your memories will be gone. And so! I have great news for you."

' _… Is she trying to emulate a used car salesman?'_

"Do you… like games?"

Apparently, there existed a parallel world that had a demon lord who constantly besieges the human population with his army. There were magic and monsters in that world. Simply, a stereotypical fantasy world.

"The people who died in that world were killed by the demon king army, and were very afraid, saying they don't want to die like that again. And so almost all the people who died rejected reincarnating in that world again. More specifically, that world would end if this continued, since babies would cease to be born there. Hence, it could be solved by sending the dead from other worlds over right? That's how it is."

' _That doesn't seem sustainable.'_

"And since we are sending people over, we should find people who died young and still yearn to live, sending them over with their original body and memories. It would be meaningless if they died immediately after going over, so we will grant a privilege to all those who are going to that world, allowing them to take one thing they like to that world. It could be a powerful ability, an exceptional talent or god level weapons… What do you think? It might be another world, but you can live once more. For the people of that world, someone would appear who could fight immediately. How about it? Isn't this great news?"

At this moment, Aqua showed him something like a catalogue.

"Please choose. I can grant you one and only one power that would match any person. It could be a powerful unique ability. For example, a legendary weapon. Come, it can be anything. You have the privilege to bring this one thing to the other world."

After hearing Aqua's explanation, Kazama took the catalogue and started browsing it.

… On it were 'unnatural strength', 'super magic', 'holy sword Arondight', 'demon sword Murasame'… And all sorts of Noble Phantasms and other things.

Faced with such a large selection of choices, the ex-hikikomori was feeling slightly intimidated. Instinct born through countless hours of comparing the stats and costs of equipment and skills in games forced him to consider each one carefully. Some may have pre-requisite conditions in order to be wielded… While weapons were effective earlier on, usually thaumatology has more potential applications and diversity… Of course, there must also be restrictions on magecraft to consider.

"Nah~ hurry up~ it doesn't matter which one you choose. I have no expectations of a hikikomori gaming nerd, can you just pick one and be on your way? Anything will do, hurry up~ Hurry up~"

Concentration born out of countless hours of ignoring the nagging of his parents allowed Kazuma to ignore the bitching of the goddess.

"Just hurry up and choose~ there are still many dead souls waiting in line!"

Aqua sat in her chair as she spoke, munching her snacks without even looking at the boy.

Scanning through to the end of the catalogue, something caught his eye. It was crossed out, but he could clearly see 'Kaleidoscope' printed on the page.

There was no hesitation. He slammed his index finger on the option-

 **Space screamed.**

 **Time shattered.**

 _In his mind, a gate to the_ **「 」** _opened._

He screamed aS **EvERytHiNg aNd noThINg –**

 _The mind of a mere human cannot comprehend the notion of infinity and non-existence_ _. This is why most magi are subsumed by the Root, the Origin of_ _all things when they reach it. The ones that avoid this fate_ _become what is known_ _as_ _ **Magicians**_ , _those who achieve the impossible, who spit at the laws of the universe and transcend divine might._

Before the one known as 'Kazama Satou' become one with the root…

' _ **Gate of Akasha, open for me.'**_

He was pulled back by the indomitable will of a man who slew the Moon.


	2. Operation of Parallel Worlds

**To reach the Root is to obtain nothing. Everything is gained in the return.**

 **This is the great secret of all true magic: to reach the root is the beginning, but to make good on that journey, one must return.**

 **Many make it to Akasha. But few have managed to turn their backs on it, and ascend.**

 **In returning to existence, this is what happens:**

 _The endless, perfect singularity of_ **「 」** _that makes up the Root breaks. The perfection of symmetry shatters, as Akasha pulls itself into two, which are Potential and Completion. The two become four - and these have no_ names, _because in our world they are not. But, just like the first two, their nature is represented in the taiji, the vacuum diagram of what some call the Root, what others call Akasha, which all know is the source of all things bound in perfect negation._

 _The four nameless truths live for only a moment, and then the world compresses into a directionless ocean of light and dark, and then, in an instant that defines Time, the world is born in the fracturing of twenty-seven degrees of freedom. Gas expands, and cools, and all becomes dark. It remains like that for silent moments, as you soar ahead of the bow-shock of reality._

 _Then, light returns._

 _From there, planets, stars, galaxies, a universe._

 _And the process repeats itself indefinitely, for anything that can exist will exist. This is what the Second Magic dictates._

* * *

Somewhere that wasn't a place, there was a universe of time, before space,and somehow fundamentally outside of everything, it stood as a testament to itself and its own eternal nature. This was a place close to the Root – outside the conceptual boundaries of the World. There are two motes in the sea of transfinite blue flash, microscopic against the backdrop of eternity. One of the was lying on what is defined as the 'ground'

Kazuma Satou woke up.

He stared at the featureless plane of blue he was on … and millions of gleaming fragments of crystal floating in the air. Instinctively, he reached out to touch the one closest to him. The shard turned in every direction simultaneously, morphing into a fracture displaying a green ocean made of crystalline flames.

"As aesthetically pleasing as the Worldview of Mercury is, the laws it imposes on organics isn't very congenial."

Turning, Kazuma glanced at a man manipulating crystallised existence with great dexterity. Sharply dressed in a black waistcoat covered with a cloak, and pressed pants, and possessing signs of the ravages of time, the man looked to be in his fifties or sixties; overall giving him an aura of worldly wisdom.

"Welcome to Observatory 6, Kazuma Satou."

Silence.

Kazuma took a moment to recall what had happened. He selected the Kaleidoscope as his ability, reached the Swirl of the Root, almost became part of it, then … well, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg happened.

After witnessing the nothingness before creation, knowing that the world conceived by Kinoko Nasu actually existed wasn't all that surprising. There are an infinite number of Parallel Worlds, and there are an infinite number of Second Magicians living an infinite number of minutely different lives. This is not just true of the Second Magician, but of all living things, of all nonliving things, of all that exists, and of all that does not.

"If you think I'm obliged to take you on as an apprentice, that you're somehow better than the other candidates or special, then you're deluded."

Right.

"The only reason why I bothered to save you was due to a ... favour owed to an alternate of myself who died.

"What you activated was a fail-safe of his, to ensure that his world would have a Magician to practice the Second Magic. You've inherited his path to the Root."

"But why can't-"

Zelretch cut off the disoriented teen, something akin to irritation appearing on his face.

"-you immediately have mastery of the Kaleidoscope? Just because you have the knowledge doesn't mean you have the means to use it. You don't understand how the one named Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg derived a path to the Swirl of the Root, lacking the context of decades of research undertaken by him. You don't even know how to activate your circuits, let alone the fundamental basics of thaumatology. If you don't have the question, then the answer is indistinguishable from nonsense."

Kazuma simply waited; the Apostle Ancestor would not have expended the effort to get him here if he was useless.

The old man sighed and rolled his eyes. "Stubborn as the rest then. I will train you in the basics, the rest you'll have to figure out for yourself. That Tohsaka girl is already a handful as it is. Just don't blame me if you go insane or break like the last forty-seven."

Reaching into his cloak, the Wizard Marshall pulled something out before hurling it at Kazuma.

Instincts took over and he caught a dagger hewn of crystal. Jeweled Sword Zelretch. A Mystic code that serves as a channel for the Second Magic, providing functionally infinite prana for its wielder.

It started to glow in Kazuma's hands, causing his eyes to widen in awe as it refracted light into a whirling kaleidoscope-

Only for it to warp into something Kazuma would later regard as the bane of his existence.

"Hello there! I'm a magical wand(isn't that redundant?)of LOVE and JUSTICE, Magical Emerald-chan! You will be a magical girl that shall _erase_ all that I deem evil." the kaleidostick disguised as a Jewelled Sword declared.

Kazuma didn't even have time to scream when the green wand engulfed him in a pillar of light.

His clothes disappeared and a set of ridiculously frilly set of clothes complete with green miniskirt appeared. Finally, it cumulated with his chromosomes shifting and his body changing to have more ah-feminine proportions.

(S)He felt his/her lips involuntarily form into a wide smile and yelled with ecstasy:

"I am the righteous fury of the innocent!"

(AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH)

If there is one universal constant across all worlds, it is that the Second Magician has a really twisted sense of humour.

* * *

Now, shift Zerwise, back, third fracture incipient on the negative time vector.

Heaving with exhaustion, he had finally managed to push the boulder to the top of the hill. It lied within a bounded field that negated gravity within the area it enclosed, and in addition had been spatially locked. Kazuma's eyes flitted shut, then snapped open. He was at the bottom of the hill again.

With. The. Root. Damned. Boulder.

Fuck Zelretch. No reinforcement he said. It will build your strength he said. Really, the vampire probably derived joy from making him emulate Sisyphus or something.

Letting his sixth sense unravel, he examined the boulder for the x-th time. The sixth sense was an artificial sense that appears in any sufficiently powerful magus. Because it is unnatural, the human mind lacks a dedicated center for integrating it. Therefore, it manifests differently in every magus. Some can smell supernatural phenomena, others taste it, and a few like Kazuma see it.

Layers of spatial and temporal distortions flashed in not-colours before his eyes. If magecraft is to colour outside the lines, Magic is to paint outside the colours. And all too often, such pursuits lead to madness.

* * *

With inhumane speed, Zelretch kicked off the ground and ran straight at Kazuma. He lowered his stance, swinging his right fist at the old man at a speed only made possible by reinforcement. his fist closes in ... and misses.

In a single fluid movement, the old man spun on the balls of his feet and shifted out of Kazuma's vision, crouching and throwing a vampirically strong punch into his stomach, fist turning in a circle to increase the damage of the attack.

Darkness engulfed Kazuma, and when it cleared, he found himself lying on the ground, staring up at his bastard of an instructor.

"Been beaten by an old man is quite humiliating, no?"

Spitting blood, Kazuma awkwardly rose to his feet.

"Yeah yeah, a magus's greatest weakness is close quarter combat and all that..."

God, was the old man trying to pulverise his internal organs or something?

Reinforcing his leg muscles as much as possible, Kazuma kicked off the ground, moving in an erratic pattern to make his attacks less predictable.

"Useless!"

A blow aiming for the head was blocked and Zelretch's knee rose, smashing into Kazuma's gut.

"You know why the youngsters at Clocktower called me 'The Wizard Marshal'? Even before my discovery of the Kaleidoscope, I had killed things rightfully forgotten by history that are too terrible to be named. You're still a few centuries too young to defeat me, kid."

Kazuma spat on the ground, and answered with a low kick.

 _'My, I never thought I'd see someone who rivaled Nagato in the sheer amount of stubbornness he possessed.'_

* * *

Dodge two meters to the left, project a barrier to delay cluster of flame spells for 2.3 seconds, jump over Gandr barrage coming from behind, then-

Slamming his hand onto the ritual circle, Kazuma channeled prana as quickly as he could into it, hoping that the old bastard wouldn't take his head off in the same instant.

"There!"

Collapsing to the ground, he laughed in relief.

"Sloppy."

If a voice could be said to sound like the feeling of sandpaper, this was it, ripping and eroding his happiness and satisfaction away.

"You... you...!" he growled, when he was able to form coherent thoughts again.

"The lattice of the mana web was off-balance, the runes were drawn too roughly, the ritual circle was a full millimeter smaller than the instructions stated, though you finally managed to draw a perfect circle for once."

Kazuma wiped sweat from his eyes, trying to keep blackness from crawling into his vision. "I... hate... you..."

"The spell..." he growled. "Was fine. The ritual was flowing with more than enough strength to function as a scrying spell. The binding circle was more than sufficient to control the output! What the hell was wrong with it?"

"I never said it wasn't fine," The old man said, smirking slightly. "But 'fine' is not the same as 'flawless', and I am nothing if not stringent. Start over from the beginning, the grimoires are on the shelf. Heck, I'll even stop attacking you this time, that's pretty lenient."

The room fell silent for a moment as Kazuma redrew everything.

"The northernmost rune, Uruz is slightly less than a centimeter too far to the left."

It was Kazuma's turn to smirk. "So it wasn't good enough after all. Thanks for the confirmation."

"Unless the rune was actually in the right place, and I just made you move it incorrectly. I suppose you'll have to check the book and re-measure, to be sure."

"... you're lucky I don't have a bowl."

"Not really... you throw like a girl."

"You bastard. Hate you so much."

"Saying it more doesn't make it get old! How novel."

When the blessed quiet was broken again, it was in the form of a question.

"Why do you want to be a Magician?"

Kazuma thought for a moment. "Honestly, a mixture of curiosity and promised power."

"Power is not an end. It is a means to an end. Power for the sake of power is worthless, transient. A child's motivation. Besides, neither of those answer the question I asked. I didn't ask why you wanted to become a Magician, I ask why you want to be one. Right now. You could have chosen any of the other abilities offered by that goddess."

Kazuma fell silent, thinking it over. At first, he'd considered this to just be the old man being obnoxious again, but it seemed the sorcerer was interested in a deeper answer. And to his surprise, Kazuma really did have to think about it. Frankly, neither of the rapid-fire responses he had given sounded quite right to him anymore.

What did he really want?

"I want to be a Magician... because it hurts."

"... less childlike. Go on."

"I had tried to shut myself off from the world, to spare myself the pain. Instead, it benefited no one in the end, I didn't do anything significant or impact on the world nor the lives of others. Does it have to be like this? Isn't there a better way? I couldn't just leave it like that."

"But maybe you can make me a different person. A stronger, better one. And that person can change some other people. And they can change others. Maybe then, I can save a few more people, to bring some good into the world."

Slowly, Zelretch smiled. "And lo, behold, the student had found the answer."

"... excuse me while I get a bowl."

"HA! Oh, fine, be that way. If you must know, the Zelretch of another worldline saw something in you, enough for him to appoint you as his successor. More important than any magic talent, far more important than lineage. He saw the capacity to see something in the world that was wrong, that repelled you utterly, and the courage to do everything in your power and more to correct it, no matter the cost to yourself. It's rarer than you expect, and yet I find there is no one single quality that better defines a truly great Magician. The will to stare into the abyss and fight with every fiber of your being, even when every instinct tells you that it is beyond you.

 _'Did he just raise a flag?! At this rate, I'd be battling a Root damned_ _Primordial Demon!'_

"There are things out there, little one. Horrible things. Things that will repel you to the core of your being, and that you as a magus and as a person will feel compelled to oppose, at all costs."

"And when you're doing that... won't you be glad that your form was flawless?" The old Sorcerer smirked.

He pointed to his scarlet eyes, the mark of a vampire.

"Wouldn't I have been better off not underestimating the Ultimate One of the Moon?"

The old man smiled. "Now! I believe the lesson has sunk in. So, if you would be so kind as to complete the ritual? You had most of the circle left to draw, I recall? And t-

He was cut off, then, by a rather heavy ceramic bowl, intended for the holding of ritual potions, striking home on his forehead.

Kazuma smirked wickedly. "Flawless."

Zelretch smiled, rubbing the tender spot on his forehead. "I'm going make your training a special kind of Hell for this, you realize."

"Bring. It. On."

And the lesson continued.

Outside, a bright and beautiful full moon shone down.

* * *

"Back here again?"

The Sorcerer and the apprentice were back in the featureless plane of blue that was Observatory 6.

"This place is the easiest place to cross to worldlines that share few similarities and where observation of the flow of time is clearest. "

"Well child, I"be taught you the fundamentals , the last few steps, the Resonance of Shared Knowledge and shifting between worldlines is up to you to figure out."

There was a tone of finality to the Sorcerer's words and Kazuma tensed.

"Here."

Grabbing an object from his cloak, Zelretch hurled it at Kazuma.

Getting a sense of deja vu, he ducked, making it fly over his head... only for it to turn in mid air and collide with his forehead.

A dagger hewn of crystal, the Jeweled Sword.

Opening his sixth sense, Kazuma scanned it for any signs of illusions. He did not want a repeat of that Magical Girl fiasco again.

"A few last words of advice. All things end. This is not in dispute; it is an unassailable fact of our existence. You, everyone you know, the world beneath your feet, all of it will one day pass from existence. You will die, and no matter what you have done it will eventually be forgotten. Nothing lasts forever, except nothingness itself. In the end, all we can look forward to is the void. So why bother? It is the nature of all living things to spread. To propagate. To create works of great beauty and great evil. To fight with all their power to survive and cling to life for as long as possible, to leave behind a legacy. But why do we bother, then, if there is no hope of success? Why does life struggle in futility, when all are bound for the same ultimate end? "

"For me, it's just more fun that way."

Without even letting Kazuma absorb the meaning of his words, the Wizard Marshall drew his own Jewelled Sword and swung.

There was a flash of searing prismatized light that burned throughout itself on a conceptual level below motion, and a shattering noise.

There stood cracks in the air, and shards of spacetime lay on the floor, somehow physical, impossibly perceivable.

"And give my greetings to the **Fourth Magician** if you meet her."

With a kick, the Apostle Ancestor sent Kazuma unceremoniously hurling into the hole rent in the fabric of the universe.

* * *

My name is Aqua, a great Goddess that guides the souls of the dead.

Today I was going to splendidly send a soul of a man to another world.

Unexpectedly, that Hikki-Neet foolishly chose the ability 'donated' by the Sage of the South. My fellow gods and I have tried to remove that 'blessing' , but to no avail. Seriously, who would pick something that had been crossed out?

Yet, I wonder why the great me is now floating? And why under my feet is now a blue magic circle mean to let people to go 'that' world is glowing as it is trying to transfer me?

"Eh? What is this?"

At that moment with a flash of white light, a winged woman appeared out of nowhere. This girl is an Angel. At this moment I realize she is the one who cast the teleportation spell on me. "Hey, you! What is the meaning of this? Why are you using this spell on me?!"

"Aqua-sama, the other gods have ordered me to give you a vacation."

The angel said while making a happy face.

"A vacation?! Don't joke with me?! What did I do?"

"... Nothing, the rest of the pantheon decided to reward you for your diligent work.( _We're behind quota because of you, so Eris-_ sama _and I will be taking_ _over your duties)_

...I feel like she just thought about something rude, but I don't even have the strength to get angry.

"And so, we decided to make you help in getting rid the Demon Lord."

Eh? Me defeat Demon Lord?

"Wait! Wait! As a goddess, I possess healing powers, not combat abilities! It is impossible for me to defeat the demon king!"

I collapsed while crying for real.

I have zero fighting ability, there is no way I can win against a killing machine like Demon Lord.

"Don't worry, the other gods suggested that Aqua-sama should simply help out Satou Kazuma-san."

That HikiNEET!

I supposed to rely on that HikiNEET…

"Well then Bon voyage, Aqua sama. Pleases leave the rest to me. We will send envoys to welcome you back right after the demon king is defeated. Before you return, I will handle all your tasks."

"No, No, Wait! KYAAA-"

With a wail, I was expelled from my own office.


	3. No Skipping

_At some point in history, someone had said that anomalies had a tendency to attract other anomalies. It was only after I had assembled my party, that I_ realised _how true these words were.-Ka_ zuma Satou

-Kazuma Satou

* * *

Imagine falling from hundreds of meters in the air, with no parachute, or any other mechanism to save you.

It actually isn't so bad once you get used to it. The first few seconds are the worst; the primal fear of weightlessness and falling kicks in, your amygdala increases in activity, your stomach spasms. It comes to pass and you realise the situation you're in.

After all, thanks to a certain bastard magical instructor, it's hardly the first time this has happened to you.

 _(Seriously, you were just about to take a leak, and then you find yourself falling out of the sky - with your pants down.)_

Then unexpectedly you hear the screaming of a girl. A flailing blue blur. The ground closes in and you're running out of time. What comes is more reflexive than consciously controlled. You activate your circuits and cast your will upon the World. A lens of wind pushes you to the right, catching the blue-haired girl at the corner of your field of vision.

You continue hurtling to the earth at a speed that will definitely break your legs, even with reinforcement. A quick Alteration of your cloak, and its drag increases beyond what should be naturally possible. You're about to land, and you think you've made an awesome entrance.

You overbalance and you fall flat on your face, Aqua tumbling to a stop beside you.

That was how I, Kazuma Satou arrived.

* * *

A vast open plain lies before my eyes, with forest to my left and what appears to be a town in the distance.

"… Another world. It really is another world."

Despite myself, I was trembling with excitement because of the scene before me. I could actually enjoy myself without getting screwed over by that old troll!

' _Wait, I just raised a flag didn't I?! He's going to appear in the worst moment possible, right?!'_

As I was examining my pockets for any signs of 'surprises', "Ahh… Ahhh…. Ahhhh!"

I turned around and looked at Aqua who was hugging her head screaming.

"Hey, you're being noisy. Now I don't know why you're here with me, but quiet down."

At that moment, my rummaging hand met a scrap of paper that definitely wasn't there before.

Shit.

Taking it out, there were only two words: "SURPRISES AHEAD!"

I wanted to scream, but that wouldn't help at all; it fact it might just make the situation worse. He could have planted a piece of thaumatology that activates upon my screams.

Taking advantage of my impending panic attack, the goddess screamed as she pounced over to grab me.

Aqua tried to strangle me with teary eyes, so I shook off her hand and tried to shoo her away with an annoyed expression.

In the end, Aqua said with trembling hands: "What are you talking about? I am troubled because I can't go back! What now? No, what should I do! What am I going to do in the future?"

Aqua fell into a panic in tears, pacing about while hugging her head.

Her waist length hair was a mess, she looked crazy right now, although she's was a beauty when she kept quiet.

"Ah, Ah, Waaaaah!"

* * *

It had been a mere three minutes since I arrived in this world, but for some reason, I'm busy trying to get a girl to stop crying.

I could just ditch her, but I feel a little guilty when I look at that pitiful face...

"Hey, please stop crying already. Seriously, what's wrong?"

"U-Ugh…*sob*…! I-It is because, UWEEH!"

"Here's a tissue, blow your nose."

I handed her a tissue I had in one of my many pockets.

"…*Sob*…Thank you… you're unexpectedly nice despite being a HikiNEET who die so vainly."

…This girl!

"I wiped my mouth with that tissue."

"Eeeeewwwww!"

Cue Aqua frantically spitting and wiping her face.

I waited for an explanation.

"Well, a bunch of other goddesses got jealous over m-"

"I'm leaving!"

"E-Eh, W-Why?"

"You're not even trying to explain things properly."

There is no way anyone will bother with her just because of her face. It will be a more believable story if she told me that the Goddess who send her here are simply angry because of her bitchy attitude.

"Well then, I should get going, don't get eaten."

"W-Wait! Please wait! I will explain properly this time, so please don't leave."

Aqua grabbed onto my legs as I try to leave.

"Talk then."

It seems that the other gods of her pantheon grew tired of her attitude and her laziness, so they decided to send her on a 'vacation' and told her to assist me in defeating the Demon Lord.

"Muahahahaha!"

"Uwaaaaaahhh! I'm being made fun of by a HikiNEET!"

She called me HikiNEET again, but I didn't care since I was too focused on laughing.

* * *

"Right, we'll go to that town in the distance. After that, we need to gather information about our location, and then before night comes we need to get ourselves a place to sleep."

"Huh…! You are just a hikkiNEET, why are you so reliable? Ah, Kazuma, my name is Aqua. I don't mind you addressing me as Megami-sama, but do call me by my name whenever possible. Or else we would be surrounded by citizens and couldn't go on adventures and take down the demon king. This might be a different world, but I am still one of the revered gods of this world."

Where exactly does this idiot get this baseless confidence from?

"…Don't worry I will refuse with all my power to call you Megami-sama."

"What?!"

And like this, my journey with a goddess(lol) began.

* * *

"Gunununu."

"Eh? What's that sound?"

At this time I felt that I might run into some kind of phantasmal beast... but it was merely a small monster with a liquid body. As a gamer, I know exactly what it is.

"….eh? A slime?"

Monsters that usually take the role of the weakest mob in RPGs. They are basically little blobs of XP.

This slime was an acidic green, and as soon as it noticed us, parts of its form extended to form tendrils.

"GUWAAAH! It's a slime!"

"It just a slime, the weakest mob in games."

"Slimes are mob monsters? Where did you hear that nonsense from? Leaving small slimes aside, slimes above a certain size are powerful adversaries. Firstly, physical attacks are useless. Their magical resistance is pretty high too. They eat anything, so it's over if they stick on to you. They could seep in through the gaps in your armor, touch your skin and dissolve you with digestive fluids, they could also block your mouth and suffocate you to death. This tentacle slime seems to be a mutant! One like that can only be defeated by level 40-50 adventurers!"

 _Great._

We were apparently close enough to aggro the slime; it slid towards us as its tendrils narrowed into spear points.

I flattened my right hand and slashed it across its path.A fairly meaningless gesture, were it not for the razor-thin beam of white light that flashed from my fingers and cut into the slime, the bolt of raw magic eating away its body.

"Y-you... the incantation, magi need a-"

Aqua seemed shocked at my swift dispatch of the enemy.

"There's magic and there's Magic and let's leave it at that."

"Tch, for a hikiNEET of all people to be gifted with a blessing from the Sage of the South."

I stopped walking.

 **No.**

The other Zelretch had a presence here as well. And the Kaleidoscope can peer into the future through observation of parallel worlds. Therefore, I will be double-teamed by two Zelretchs, one that knew my weaknesses, while the other possibly planned for my arrival.

No. Just no.

Grabbing a stick, I began to draw a scrying circle.

* * *

"Are you done yet?"

Despite her words, Aqua was equally eager for my tactic to succeed.

"Do you understand how hard it is to draw a perfect circle freehand?!"

I was about to use a strategy discussed by the high-level players of a popular online game. It involved a combination of scrying and super-long range offensive magic to attack fortifications and opponents from a distance.

I do not want to get screwed over, so I'll simply end this quest right now by basically nuking the demon lord from here.

Taking out a Teleidos crystal from one of my spatially enlarged pockets, I used it as a catalyst for the scrying spell.

After 20 minutes or so, I spotted something that looked like Aqua's description of the Demon Lord's castle.

It was encased in a barrier, no, a multi-layered Boundary Field.

Time to shatter it.

With my other hand, I drew the Jewelled Sword, drawing on mana from other worlds and manifesting it in a solid point, adjusting, directing...

A bolt of white light; not the razor-thin line I used on the slime, but a blast of incandescent white as wide as a man, blazed across the sky, venturing beyond the horizon and towards the castle.

It was the maximum amount of mana I could gather before things start to go wrong.

However, the bolt halted at the barrier, crackling as a complex mana lattice took form at the exact point of impact, and the bolt started to shrink.

Absorption? I decided to simply overwhelm its capabilities.

Multiple bolts of light blasted out, ripping into the boundary, and overtaxing it.

It started to shatter...

* * *

"Wolbach, ***** ..." The demon lord motioned from his throne.

The Goddess of Sloth and Violence had already started chanting the incantation to the Explosion spell.

The other women simply smiled and waited.

* * *

A massive explosion materialised in front of the barrier, deflecting some my bolts of mana away from the collapsing barrier, allowing it to regenerate.

Undeterred, I simply projected more bolts, striking at the castle from every angle.

Then, something happened.

My attacks ... simply _dissipated_ , for lack of a better word. The mana that the bolts of light were comprised of were dispelled evenly into the atmosphere, the spell deconstructed.

It should not have been possible.

 **It should not have been possible.**

It should not have been possible damn it!


	4. Getting Registered

Aqua nervously stared down at Kazuma's kneeling form. His whole body was shaking with what appeared to be... shock?

"K-Kazuma"

The man in question suddenly tilted his head to the heavens and began to laugh hysterically, fingers digging into the ground.

"This barrier is an eyesore. Disappear!"

Holding out the Jewelled Sword, he began to continuously fire blasts at the castle of the Demon Lord; each and every one were dispelled by the same mysterious force.

"This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier. This barrier!"

No matter how much Kazuma spammed his attack, his efforts were fruitless.

Not wanting to lose her ticket off this world to insanity, Aqua summoned her shakujo.

"God Blow!"

With a crack, she smacked the back of Kazuma's head, knocking his face into the ground.

"Snap out of it! If you go insane, how will I get back to Heaven?"

Silence.

Kazuma's form did not stir from where he lied.

"Perhaps I hit him a little too hard..."

* * *

A carriage drove over the pavement and made a loud creaking sound.

Before my eyes were houses built like ones from Medieval Europe; the cobblestone roads added to the town's rustic charm. There were no cars, bikes, power lines or any sort of modern technology. Some of the pedestrians I had passed possessed animal ears, and some appeared to match the traditional depiction of elves. If I needed more evidence that this really was another world, this would be it.

Normally something like this would please my inner chuunibyo, but after my failed attack on the Demon Lord's castle, I was feeling quite sour. After all, things that can counter the Second Magic were few and far between; it was either the doing of another Sorcerer or something that possessed Mystery equivalent to True Magic. Neither possibility is particularly attractive.

"Ne, Kazuma! Hurry up already! We need to tell the inhabitants of this town that I, the exalted Aqua, have descended from Heaven!"

A declaration by the irrational Goddess pulled me from my thoughts.

"Wait, so you plan to spread the fact that you're a Goddess?"

Some people are already giving us strange looks, so I waved for Aqua to quieten down.

"Of course, the citizens should welcom-"

I already suspected that the Goddess lacked the common sense of humans, but I didn't expect it to be like this! She doesn't even recognise the danger in spreading her name.

"Aqua, let's assume that you manage to spread the fact that you're a Goddess, and people believe you. How do you think the Demon lord will react?"

"Fufufu, obviously the Demon Lord will cower in fear and hope for a quick death. After all, I'm a great Goddess!"

Where does she get all of her baseless confidence from?

"Look, while we were walking, you said that if you eat or kill a being in this world, you can absorb a part of the memory of the soul. This is known as 'Experience Points'. With the accumulation of Exp, an entity could grow 'stronger' right?"

That kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Modification of souls should be under the domain of the Third Magic, Heaven's Feel, after all. But then, so does the concept of Divine Spirits ferrying souls across worldlines. I dealt with this by simply not thinking about it.

"Then I suppose as a Divine Spirit, you would yield alot of Exp if you were killed."

"Of course! The weight of a Goddess's existence is much more than that of humans or monsters. If you manage to kill me, you'll certainly jump from level one to a hundred in one go!"

"Then suppose the Demon Lord hears about a Goddess that has no fighting ability whatsoever. He would either endeavor to kill you as soon as possible, or send spies to kidnap you so he could kill you, and gain the large amount of Exp you yield."

"Eeeeehhhh?!"

"If you don't want that to happen, then control your mouth. At this stage, we can't afford to spread that yet. At the very least, wait until we know the capabilities of the Demon Lord and his army, or become powerful enough to defeat him."

She still looked slightly reluctant so I said:"Think of this as practice. Someone once said that it is in receiving mercy that men offer praise, and in **_shedding grace that the Gods solicit worship_**."

"I-I understand. I won't tell anyone that I'm a Goddess!"

"Don't yell, and remember to act normal _(as normal as you can be that is)_."

* * *

Traditionally, guilds were the premier hubs of information in games that take place in a fantasy setting.

After asking for the whereabouts of the local Adventurer's guild from a middle aged lady, we arrived at a comparatively large building built from red bricks. Apparently, the name of the town we were in was called 'Axel Town' in the kingdom of Belzerg, and it was a common starting point for novice adventurers.

"You know Kazuma, you seem to be a pretty capable guy; why did you become a hikkiNEET?"

I shrugged. "I'll tell you some other time."

As I opened the front door of the guild, the fragrance of food drifted out. It seemed that the ground floor also doubled as a bar.

"Ah, welcome~ Please approach the counter if you looking for jobs. If you are here to dine, please take any empty seat~!"

A waitress with short red hair received us warmly.

Groups of men in armour could be seen congregating inside, but they didn't seem to bear ill will.

Still, I was glad I wasn't wearing the tracksuit that was on me when I died.

But unfamiliar faces seemed to be rare, hence why everyone seemed to be focusing on us.

... There was also another reason why they were looking this way.

"Nah nah, they are looking this way too blatantly. It must be the holy aura coming from me. "

Said reason was the Goddess beside me.

She looked like a beauty if she stayed quiet, and was attracting alot of gazes from the men.

For now, I ignored this and went about my original objective.

Taking Aqua with me, I made a beeline for the counter.

Along the way, I cast Structural Grasp on some coins someone was handling to the waitress. You know, just in case. There were queues on all of the counters but eventually it was our turn.

"Good morning, how may I help you?"

The counter staff was a gentle beauty.

Her wavy hair and eh-large tracts of land gave her an attractively mature look.

"Eh, I want to be an adventurer. I came from the countryside and didn't know anything about the profession though…"

Hopefully this will get me a more thorough explanation on how things work here.

"I see. There will be a registration fee, will that be okay?"

"How much?"

"1000 Eris for two."

Aqua probably didn't have any money on her, and I didn't want to be indebted to someone this early on.

Desperate times calls for desperate measures. Holding a hand into my cloak, I projected the necessary amount of coins and handed it to the women. They should last for quite a while before disappearing.

Aqua's eyes widened in outrage so I shot her a warning look.

"Alright. Since you said you want to be an adventurer, you should have some level of understanding, but I will explain it from the start. First, adventurers are responsible for the extermination of the monsters wandering outside the town. People who get rid of dangerous creatures that might harm the citizens. They can also be considered a jack of all trades, taking on odd jobs that require their talents. People who earn a living this way are known collectively as adventurers. And among adventurers, there are different classes."

The counter lady handed me and Aqua one card each.

It was about the size of a driver's license and seemed to be a kind of identification card.

"Please look over here, do you see the word level? As both of you know, all things in the world have souls. No matter what form it takes, if you eat or kill a being, you can absorb a part of the memory of the soul. This is known as 'Experience Points'.'Experience Points' are normally intangible things, but…"

The counter lady pointed to one part of the card and continued:

"With this card, the 'Experience Points' the adventurer had absorbed would be shown here. At the same time, the level corresponding to your 'Experience Points' would also be displayed. This show how strong you are, and the number of monsters you have slain. With the accumulation of 'Experience Points', all creatures would grow stronger rapidly at some point. This is known as leveling up… Simply put, leveling up will grant you all sorts of perks, such as skill points to learn new skills. So please work hard to increase your level."

I can't begin to fathom why one of the laws of nature this World established is 'leveling up'.

"First of all, please fill in your height, weight, age and other details in the blanks."

I filled in my particulars in the form given to me by the counter lady.

Height is 175cm, weight 58kg. 18 years old, brown hair and eyes…

"That will be fine. Please touch this card. This will display the strength of each of your abilities to assist you in choosing your class. After accumulating skill points, you can learn skills that are available to your jobs."

With a sense of anticipation, I touched the card.

"Alright, thank you. Satou Kazuma-san right. Let's see… "

The counter lady's face turned blank.

A minute of silence passed.

"T-There's something wrong with your card-"

Before I could do anything, Aqua grabbed the card and started reading out loud to herself.

"Strength: Low paygrade construction worker

Endurance: PE dropout

Agility: mediocre

Intelligence: I taught him personally

Luck _:_ tripped Eris's flag

Magic: l‹ÎD $0(£Æ Âò_÷þqêa/Gß$E&´ÓÜ!ÜH¬« ÅÏ **「** **KALEIDOSCOPE** **」** ½îr„õñFèQæÃ(Hòp' µNËˆ+ìes™ _ß¾MRBCD‰

Class: _My shitty apprentice_

 _..._ I'm going to kill that old bastard.


	5. Forest Fire and Explosion!

A gentle wind rushes through the stable, causing me to shiver a little. Candles and oil lamps were not allowed inside the stable for good reason; hay is very flammable after all.

The moonlight shining through the window above me began to fade as a cloud covered the moon, made it doubly difficult to continue etching on the metal plate I had acquired.

Put a single point in the centre, then surround it with an empty circle.

" _Wuji_ , the Limitless, produces the delimited, and this is _Taiji_ , the Supreme Ultimate." I recited from my readings of I Ching.

Divide the next layer into two equal segments, and the next to four, then to eight, then to sixty-four.  
 _  
_"The _Taiji_ produces two forms, named _Yin_ and _Yang_."

"The two forms produce four phenomena, which are the Lesser _Yin_ , the Greater _Yin_ , the Lesser _Yang_ and the Greater _Yang_."

"The four phenomena act on the eight trigrams – _Qián, Xùn, Kǎn, Gèn, Kūn, Zhèn, Lí, Duì_."

"Eight eights are sixty-four hexa-"

"Hey, can it! We're trying to sleep here!"

"Ah, sorry!"

Though I'm surprised that they can sleep at all. Aqua's snoring was much louder than my whispering.

As it turns out, renting a room in a tavern costs about the same as renting a hotel in Japan.

As most of our disposable income is used to buy materials needed for me to analyse that Root-damned Barrier, and pay off the debts Aqua constantly accumulates, we were forced to stay in the stables at night, free of charge.

Of course, since adventurers who were just starting out are usually poor, it was quite crowded at night.

Putting away my equipment beneath a bale of hay, I lied down and thought about the first mission we took...

* * *

 **A few days earlier**

As expected, the fact that my card was rigged caused a chorus of laughs to erupt inside the guild. The only good thing that came out of that was that I didn't seem to be restricted by the skill points and levelling system; these stats didn't even appear on my card.

Aqua got her card as well and wasted no time boasting in that she had exceptional stats with the noticeable exception of luck and intelligence, which were rock bottom. Guess gods aren't so perfect after all.

Right now, I'm looking at the list of available missions posted on the bulletin board.

— Cut down the Egil trees corrupting the forest, bounty is dependent on the amount turned in

— Help me look for my pet white wolf

— My son's swordsmanship lesson *Requirement: Rune Knight or Sword master.

— Recruiting subject for magical research * Requirement: High HP or strong magic resistance…

That last mission made a little uneasy. Could there be magi transferred to this world as well? Since there's no mention of people disappearing or any discoveries of dissected corpses, maybe I'm just been paranoid.

"Well, cutting down these Egil trees doesn't seem too bad; let's take that one."

...

Aqua and I stared blankly at the forest in front of us. The forest that was coming alive, each tree wrenching themselves up from the ground, roots and wood warping into rough representations of arms and legs.

"Just how large is this infestation?!"

The fractured earth trembled as the trees noticed us, snarling faces splitting open the bark and glaring down at us. With a speed that belied their size, they charged at us, aiming to crush us to paste with their wooden fists.

I comforted myself with the fact that at least it wasn't the Forest of Einnashe we're dealing with.

Reaching for the feeling of madness felt when I gazed upon the Root, I activated my Magic Circuits.

" **Be gone, shadows. Thou of the unseeable.**

 **Fade back into oblivion, if of darkness. Be returned to the immaterial."**

A sea of flames as blue as the sky materialised in front of me, bathing the entire forest. It seems that I have underestimated the effects of higher mana saturation in the environment on my spells.

The Egil trees were quickly reduced to ash ... and the rest of the uncorrupted forest caught fire as well.

" **Sacred create water! _"_**

Luckily I had prepared for this eventuality of accidentally starting a forest fire, so I had Aqua prepare beforehand.

A large deluge of water poured over the flames, creating a massive outpouring of steam and mixing with the ash to create a flow of sludge - that swept over us, covering our bodies from head to toe.

"...We're never dealing with Egil trees again." Aqua declared.

* * *

 **Present**

After some consideration, we decided to recruit more members to increase the efficiency and effectiveness at which we can complete missions.. After displaying a recruitment notice, we sat at a table inside the Adventurers guild and wait for people to show up. It had been half a day.

"… No one is coming…"

Aqua mumbled to herself dejectedly.

The other adventurers definitely saw our us, a number of adventurers were recruiting members. They had conducted interviews, talked with them and went off. I knew very well why no one was coming.

"Look, let's lower the standard. Our goal is to defeat the demon king, so such conditions are necessary… but 'only recruiting top tier jobs' is a bit too grueling."

"Ugh… But…"

In this world, the adventurer jobs were divided into tiers, with some being top tier. Aqua's high cleric was one of the top tier jobs. If her intelligence and personality didn't leave so much to be desired, she could have been a hero candidate. And it was normal for such hero candidates to enjoy a privileged life in other teams… Aqua probably wanted to recruit powerful companions in order to take down the demon king, since I have made little progress at penetrating the damn Barrier.

But…

"If this goes on, no one would apply! You might have a top tier job, but no-one would take us seriously because of my hacked card."

As I was preparing to stand up,

"I saw the notice to recruit adventurers with top tier, is that you guys?"

Her red eyes looked sleepy. Her smooth black hair reached her shoulders. To sum it up, she was a girl dressed in a classical witch attire, with black cloak, dark boots, pointy hat and a staff.

Her features were delicate like a porcelain doll – and seemed quite young.

The small frail girl who looked about 14-15 had an eye patch covering one eye. She flung her cloak hard and said:

"I am Megumin! An arch mage with the strongest attack spell, Explosion…!"

"Is this a joke?"

"N-No!"

"Those red eyes; are you Crimson Demon race?"

The girl nodded in response to Aqua's query and presented her adventurer card to Aqua.

"That's correct! I am an elite mage from the Crimson Demon race, Megumin! My magic is powerful enough to split the mountains! That's how it is, do you need an excellent mage? By the way, I have a favor to ask. I haven't ate in 3 days, could you give me something to eat before the interview…"

Megumin looked at us with sorrowful eyes.

The heartbreaking 'Ugu' sound came from Megumin's stomach region.

Though we don't actually need a mage since I am pretty much filling the role of one, she looked too pitiful to resist.

"I'm fine with treating you to a meal, but why are you wearing an eye patch? If you are injured, do you need this girl to heal you?"

"The eyepatch is a tool to restrain my overwhelming you pull it off… A gigantic disaster will befall the world!"

"Oh… So it is something like a seal."

 _Perhaps some sort of Mystic or Pure Eyes?_

"I made that up. This is just a normal eye patch, it just look nic- Ah, sorry, please don't pull on that, stop!"

"Eh, listen Kazuma, the Crimson Demon race are born with high intellect and strong magic affinity, most of them have the potential to become a professional mage. The Crimson Demon race are known for their red eyes… and their strange names."

Aqua explained.

I see. Just listening to her name and seeing that eye patch, I had believed that she just had chuunibyou tendencies

I released the eye patch, and she said sternly:

"It's rude to say our names are weird. I think the names of the people in town are the weird ones."

"Right, may I ask for your parent's name?"

"My mother is Yuiyui, my father is Hyoizaburo."

"…"

Aqua and I were silent.

"… Anyway, the race this girl is from produced many powerful mages right? Could we recruit her as a companion?"

Recruiting a mage was redundant when you have a Magician in your party, but since this world seems to be in its Age of Gods phase, perhaps magecraft hasn't strayed far from sorcery yet?

"Hey, if you have any problem with the names of my parents, say it to my face."

Megumin leans forward, and Aqua returned the adventurer's card to her at this moment.

"It should be fine right? The adventurer's card is real, her job is really top tier with the ability to use powerful spells– Archmage. We would have two living artillery pieces! ( _Seriously?)._ The magic stat on the card is very high, so she has a lot of potential and you can teach her! If she really can use explosion magic, that would be amazing! Explosion spell is the top grade spell in the detonation series magic and is hard to learn. Besides, we would finally have a _real_ arch mage instead of a _shitty apprentice_."

I sighed gave Aqua my best 'I'm disappointed in you' look. She winced and shut up.

"Shitty apprentice? What do you mean?" Megumin questioned.

I handed the food menu to Megumin.

"Just a joke pulled by my magical instructor, now order something to eat. I am Kazuma. This is Aqua. Please to meet you, arch-mage."

Megumin seemed like she had something else to say but just took the menu quietly in the end.

* * *

"Explosion is the strongest spell. On the other hand, it requires a long incantation. Before I am ready, please keep that toad at bay."

We brought Megumin along on a mission to hunt the giant toads that have been popping up in the plains around Axel Town recently.

I could see a toad in the distance that had already noticed us and was charging our way. It was larger than an adult bull. Perhaps I was growing numb to the many absurdities of this world, but this did not surprise me at all. And I could see another toad heading towards us from the opposite direction.

"Please target the toad further away. As for the one nearer…" I held out my right hand towards it.

 **"Αερο."**

Blades of razor wind wrapped themselves around the incoming toad and sliced it into large pieces. The result was similar to throwing a piece of raw meat into a fan or a blender.

One of the bloody pieces of flesh flew off and hit Aqua in the face.

"Ugh… I am already defiled. If a believer saw how dirty I am, their faith would definitely plummet!" she declared as she wiped the blood off her face.

She was on the verge of tears, and charged towards the nearer toad in frustration with her fist clenched.

"Feel the wrath of a goddess! You dare desecrate my body with your blood? Repent in hell! God Blow!"

I remembered the staff in the guild telling me that physical attacks weren't effective against giant toads. Aqua's fist sunk into the soft abdomen, while the toad seemed unaffected. Aqua looked at the toad meekly in the eye and said softly: "… looking closely, toads are actually quite cute right?"

The toad then proceeded to swallow her in one gulp. I didn't know whether to laugh at her, or cry at how useless she was.

Meanwhile, the air around Megumin started to tremble. Her chanting got louder as sweat falls from her temples.

"Watch closely. This is the strongest possible attack of humans… The ultimate attack magic."

I unraveled my sixth sense and glanced at her. The tip of Megumin's staff started to glow as Od seemed to concentrate at the tip. Megumin's visible eye started to glow with a crimson light.

"'Explosion!"

A flash of light illuminated the plains around us. The gathered orb of Od shot forth from Megumin's staff, hitting the other toad that was approaching our position.

The violent effect of the spell could be seen immediately. A dazzling light and then a loud bang reverberated in the air, blowing the toad into pieces. A strong wind resulting from the explosion blew against us, almost blowing me over.

After the dust settled, a crater around 20 meters in diameter could be seen where the toad was.

"That was quite powerful."

The power of Megumin's spell was greater than I expected, and at this moment, a toad climbed out slowly from underground, probably woken up by the shockwave and sound of the explosion. It seems that the toads burrow underground to avoid been baked by the sun.

The toad that was climbing out was near Megumin, but it's movements were sluggish and very slow.

I turned to warn her when I realised that she was lying face-down on the ground. "Hmmp… Explosion is my ultimate spell, it is powerful and used a lot of mana. The mana I used exceeded my limit, so I can't move. Ah, to think a toad would appear out of nowhere… No good, I will get eaten. Sorry, please save me… Hya…!"

And so, I finished off the two toads whose movements were sealed by the bodies of Aqua and Megumin as well as the rest of the toads we needed to hunt.

* * *

"Ugh… Ugug… sniff… it smells… it smells like fish…"

Aqua who was covered in slime sniveled as she followed behind me.

"Say Kazuma, how are you able to cast so many high-level spells at once?" Megumin, who I was carrying on my back was covered in goo, asked.

"I put a lot of skill points into my mana capacity." I lied. There was no need for people to know that I have access to an infinite amount of mana.

From what I've seen, it seems that the mages of this world were different from the magi I was familar with. Their bodies contained not magic circuits, but a sort of refillable container of Od. While that means they don't need to worry about overheating circuits, the number of spells they are able to cast in an extended period of time is more limited, and they also need time to recharge their Od.

Apparently, their ability to use the mana in the environment is very limited; and if they overtax themselves, they may decrease their lifespan and in severe cases, even die.

"From now on, casting Explosion is banned unless there is an emergency. Please work hard by using other spells, Megumin."

Megumin grabbed my shoulders harder.

"… I can't."

"You can't what?"

Megumin grabbed me even harder and pressed her noticeably flat chest onto my back.

"I can only cast Explosion. I don't know any other spells."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

As Megumin and I turned silent, Aqua, who was sniveling, joined in our discussion.

"What do you mean you only know explosion magic? If you had enough skill points to learn explosion, you must have learned other spells right? Detonation series magic consist of composite spells, so you would need deep knowledge of fire and wind magic to master it. This means that people who can learn detonation magic should be able to easily learn other spells."

Megumin mumbled a response: "I am an arch-mage that loves explosion spell. What I like is not detonation series magic, but explosion magic"

 _Really, should there any difference between the two?_

As if being spurred on by her ideal, Megumin continued ranting: "Adventures would definitely be easier if I learn other high level spells like Kazuma. Fire, water, earth, wind and light, learning such spells should be good enough… but I can't do that. My only love is explosion magic. Even though I could only cast it once per day, even if I will collapse after using the spell, my one true love is still explosion magic! The only reason I chose the path of the arch-mage was to cast explosion spells"

"Incredible! Great! Your resolve to follow your romantic dreams despite knowing it is inefficient is deeply moving!"

It seems this mage is quite useless. The best evidence was her hitting it off with Aqua.

"I see. The path you walk is definitely difficult, so do work hard. Ah, I can see the town. Let's divide the rewards equally at the guild. May our paths cross again one day."

Megumin grabbed me harder after I finished.

"Hmmp… My only wish is to use explosion magic. The bounty is just a complementary bonus. How about this, I don't need to split the rewards evenly, if you are willing to foot the bill for food, baths and miscellaneous items, I can consider not taking any rewards. That's right, my power as an arch mage is available at the price of meals and other miscellaneous fees! How could you miss this opportunity to form a long term contract!"

"The explosion spell can't be used in dungeons or indoors, which would render you a liability. Hey, release your grip. I'll split the profits evenly okay?"

In order to chase away Megumin who was grabbing on to me tightly when we reach the guild, I attempted to loosen her grip.

But Megumin refused to let go.

"No no no no! When my level grows, I wouldn't collapse after using my spells. So let's talk this over, then pull my hand away okay?"

At that time, her voice started getting louder and louder.

"Please don't ditch me! No team is willing to take me in! I am willing to carry the luggage or anything when exploring dungeons! Please, don't throw me away!"

It's probably because Megumin on my back was yelling 'don't throw me away', the passer-bys started whispering while looking at us.

Because we are in town and Aqua's appearance drew a lot of attention, it made us the center of focus.

"No way. That man wants to abandon that child…"

"He has a girl covered in slime with him."

"To toy with such a small child, and to abandon her after that, what trash. Look! Why are the girls covered in goo? What weird sexual games did that pervert made them do?"

I was definitely being maligned.

Megumin seemed to have heard their whispers too.

I looked at Megumin who was peeking over my shoulder, a malicious smile emerging on her face.

"I am fine with any sort of play! Even using the toad's slime like just now is okay."

"Alright– I get! But first, you have to learn one other spell, Teleport, and learn how to control the power of your explosion spells. Promise me this!"

Megumin looked like she just swallowed a whole pot of bitter melons. "...Fine."

And that was how our party of two turned to a party of three.


	6. Bears and Masochists

The One-Hit Bear.

A fearsome beast that possesses incredible speed and strength, as well as high magic resistance. As such, it is extremely dangerous and usually requires multiple parties in order to slay even one. Its name came from the fact that you either kill it in a barrage of attacks or you get killed in one hit. This is because they have immense regenerative abilities; only complete destruction of a One-Hit Bear's head can be guaranteed to kill it.

Even I, Megumin, wielder of the ultimate attack spell Explosion, am somewhat nervous at facing such a foe.

In order for me to get enough skill points to learn 'Teleport', Kazuma had decided that the quickest way was for me to kill a monster that yielded a large amount of Exp.

Sure I promised him I would learn it, but I didn't promise him that I'd **_use_** it.

Right now, he's circling a cave dug into the side of a hill, where the One-Hit Bear was said to have made its den.

The leader of our party was a strange man, entirely too serious and tended to use strange names to describe things, such as his insistence that the bear was a 'Phantasmal Beast'. Nevertheless, he seems really powerful, and seems to have a _really_ large mana pool, what with his spamming of what I assumed to be the 'Light of Saber' spell during the Giant Toad hunt. Based on what I know, I have to conclude that he must be a foreign arch-mage that had just arrived in Belzerg recently.

I see him give the signal, and I rush to my assigned position.

The plan was for Kazuma and Aqua to draw out the beast into the open so they could incapacitate it and allow me to cast Explosion to finish it off.

Kazuma raised his right hand and swiped it down quickly.

With a crack, the roof of the cave and part of the hill collapsed, only to explode into the air as a large black blur shot out.

The One-Hit Bear was almost as large as a house, with claws that could probably cut down a tree in one swipe. With boundless killing intent around its yellow eyes, and fur the colour of pitch, it was much more intimidating than I would have ever imagined. I steadied myself on my staff and started to chant the incantation for Explosion.

 **"Crimson-black blaze, king of myriad worlds,**  
 **though I promulgate the laws of nature"**

It wasted no time in leaping to Kazuma's position, jaws opening to bite him in half. Teeth the size of my forearm close shut on ... empty air.

There was no burst of gore and shattered bone; Kazuma simply _disappeared_.

The bolt of light tore into the One-Hit Bear from behind, where the real Kazuma, not the illusion was. The beam of incandescent white reduced the bear's back into smoldering, charred tissue.

The bear's reaction was, if anything, more impressive.

Silence. Utter silence.

It ran at Kazuma at a speed that cracked the ground beneath its paws, its back swiftly regenerating.

The ground beneath it suddenly softened, causing the bear to sink into the ground. Tentacles of rock emerged around it, restraining its limbs.

 **"I am the alias of destruction incarnate**

 **in accordance with the principles of all creation.**

 **Let the hammer of eternity descend unto me!"**

"Now Aqua!"

The blue blur that was the arch priest shot towards the One-Hit Bear. Aqua had cast 'Max stat buff' on herself beforehand, which apparently 'stacked' with the Reinforcement Kazuma cast on her, whatever that meant. Still considering Aqua's base physical stats were on par with a mid-level crusader's...

"Take this: Super God Blow!"

Aqua's fist smashed into the bear's chest, and a series of loud cracks rang out, probably its ribcage shattering. With a roar, the bear's front left leg broke free and rushed towards Aqua. Ducking under it in a fluid motion, she readied her right arm, and elbowed the bear in the back with great force. With its heart ruptured, the bear fell to the ground, though it wasn't dead yet.

"Eeewwwwww, I'm covered in this brute's blood!"

"Shut up and get away Aqua! Megumin, do it!"

And so, with all of my heart and soul, I cast the spell I have devoted my entire life to:

 **"EXPLOSION!"**

* * *

"What do you mean you can't lower the strength of your explosions?!"

I glared at Megumin. Honestly, this girl was way too stubborn!

She glared back, not willing to give even an inch of ground.

"I told you, I know how to control how much mana I input into my spells; but as one who walks the path of explosions, I will settle for nothing less than complete devastation when I attack!"

While Megumin managed to learn teleport 'off an old acquaintance', she refused to use it, just like how she refused to tone down the strength and amount of Od she puts into her Explosion spells.

Grumbling to myself, I pushed open the front door of the guild and went for a table in the corner, away from Megumin.

"Hey, did you hear about the attack on the Demon Lord's castle?"

"Oh yeah, apparently some super arch mage almost broke the barrier!"

"Wait are you serious? I thought that nothing short of a Sage could-"

From across the room, Aqua gave me an awkward glance. It seems that my attempts weren't unnoticed.

"Hello there."

I must confess, I choked a little on my beer when I saw who was talking.

She was a female knight.

And a beauty.

She gave a vibe of been a cool beauty at first glance; honestly it was like looking at the older sister of a certain 'King' of Britain.

She was wearing solid metal armor all over her body, and seemed to be perhaps a year or two older than me.

I can't tell her body shape from her armor, but I felt that she was very feminine.

"Ah, eh– What is the matter?"

"Erm… The team that put up this recruitment notice was you right? Are you still looking for people?"

She showed me a familar flyer.

That's right, we didn't tear away that notice after Megumin joined our party.

"Oh, we're still hiri-"

"Please pick me! Please let me join your party!"

The knight suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Just wait a second. Our party has plenty of problems you know. The mage of ours is a b-"

"That's no problem for me. Plus, your party took down that One-Hit Bear right? So your already pretty powerful."

An eager look emerged on hr face, destroying the knight's previous image of been calm and collected.

Say, your companions got covered in goop last time right? What happened, how did they end up like that? I, I also…! Want to experience that…!"

"..."

 _I see._

"No, I phrased it wrongly. For the two young girls to experience that at such a tender age, I can't watch idly as a knight. I have Crusader as my class. It should fit your recruitment criteria."

It seems that she must have a distorted mindset; possessing a pyschological defect like Aqua and Megumin.

She might be beautiful, but it can't be helped.

"Now miss, I didn't finish. I really don't recommend you to join. One of my party members is useless at times, the other could only cast one spell a day. I suggest you find a more worthwhile party."

The women gripped my hand harder. At this rate, I'll have to reinforce my hand to prevent it from breaking!

"That is perfect! To be honest, I am confident in my strength and durability, I am not too agile with my hands. So… I can't hit the enemy."

"So you don't need to mind me having a top tier job. I will just charge ahead without a care, so just abuse me like a shield."

The female knight shoved her pretty face in front of me, thoroughly violating my personal space.

Because I was sitting, she was looking at me from up high. The female knight's golden locks brushed against my face, making my heart race a little.

Hey, I am still an adolescent virgin after all.

"No, how could I let a girl act like a shield. The monsters might gang up on you in every fight!"

"That's the way I like it."

 _Great, a masochist of all things!_

* * *

 **A few days later**

Unfortunately, Aqua and Megumin had heard the crusader, whose name is Darkness, rant about joining our party. So now, our party of three became a party of four.

I comforted myself with the fact that she could be a good tank, and we managed to gain a close range specialist... that can't hit anything at close range.

 _Maybe her Origin is **Shield?** That would explain her masochistic tendencies. _

"Hey, you the leader of that party Darkness wanted to join right? The shitty apprentice? You don't have any class restrictions right? How about I teach you some thieving skills?"

In my mind, I hoped that the Kaleidosticks would one day rebel against Zelretch and give him a taste of his own medicine.

The one talking to me was a woman wearing light leather armor.

She had a small scar on her face and seemed to be street smart. She was a pretty enough, with silver locks and a bright personality.

"Thieving skills? What are they like?"

The girl responded cheerfully: "Good question. Thieving skills are very practical– such as 'Disarm Traps', 'Sense Enemy', 'Hide', 'Steal', they are all skills that are worth learning. How about it? I can teach them to you if you treat me to a glass of crimson beer!"

 _Is this altruism at work?_

I suppose she had nothing to lose from teaching me the skills, and I could just ask any other thief later on.

"Very well then. Please get a glass of ice cold crimson beer for this lady!"

"I will do a short introduction. I am Chris. As you can see, I am a thief."

"Hello! I am Kazuma, nice to meet you, Chris!"

* * *

Chris, who had managed to drag Darkness along with her, and I stood at the open area outside the guild.

"Well then, we will start from 'Sense Enemy' and 'Hide'. We will work on 'Disarm Trap' next time, traps are rare in such a crowded place. Hey… Darkness, could you turn and face that side?"

"Okay."

Darkness turned and faced away as instructed.

And so, Chris got into a wooden barrel some distance away and showed only the top half of her body.

I didn't know what she was playing at, but she then threw a rock at Darkness's head and hid in the barrel.

"…"

Could this be the hide skill?

Darkness moved silently towards the only barrel in the area, killing intent swirling around her eyes.

"Sensing enemy… sensing enemy… I can strongly feel that Darkness is angry! Nah, Darkness? You should know I only did that to teach him the skills, I couldn't help it! Please have mercy ahhhhhh, stop ahhhhhhhh!"

The barrel she was hidden in was toppled over and Chris screamed as it rolled on the ground.

 _Could I really learn a skill this way?_

"Alright, let's try the skill I recommend the most, 'Steal'. This was a skill that can snatch away one item possessed by the target, it could be anything. Be it the weapon gripped tightly in their hands, or the wallet secured deep in their pockets, it can steal one item possessed by the target. The probability of success is dependent on the luck stat. You could rob the weapon or treasure of a strong enemy and run, a great skill to have under any circumstances."

After Chris recovered from the dizziness of being rolled around in a barrel, she explained 'Steal' to me.

Stealing sounded very useful indeed. And it was dependent on the luck stat, which I have a very high ranking in.

"I will demonstrate with you as the target! Ready, 'Steal'!"

Chris shouted as she reached her hand forward, and something appeared in her hand.

That is…

"What is this strange rod?"

It was something I detested with every fibre of my being. The kaleidostick, Magical Emerald, had reappeared!

Grabbing it from Chris, I shoved it deep into one of my unused pockets in my cloak. Luckliy it hasn't woken up yet.

Chris gave me a strange look.

"...Ok then. Let's have a match! Try learning 'Steal' now. I will then let you steal one item from me."

"Alright, watch this! My luck had always been good! 'Steal'!"

As I shouted, I focused on what I wanted to steal.

I wondered if this experiment would work or not.

I opened my hand and looked at what I stole…

"So 'Steal doesn't work on abstract concepts."

Nothing

"Eh, I thought you had a high luck stat?" Chris was confused.

"What did you aim to steal?"

"Your heart."

"..."

"wwwwwhhhhhhhaaaaaaatttttt?!"

* * *

 **A few days later**

I took a bite of the fried cabbages sold here.

The cabbage hunt quest ended and the entire town started serving dishes made from cabbages.

It was great profit, so I joined the cabbage hunt quest, though it wasn't very good for my sanity. I mean, seriously? Flying vegetables?

"You are skilled, Darkness! As expected of a crusader! The cabbages couldn't break through your iron wall defense no matter what they did."

"No, I didn't do much, I am just really tough. I am clumsy and slow, so I can't really hit my target, so my only strong point is shielding others. Megumin has impressive offense. You took out the horde of monsters that was chasing the cabbages right into town with just one explosion attack. All the other adventurers were shocked."

"Kuku, no one could stand up to the power of my explosive magic. But Kazuma was the most active one. He picked me up after I exhausted my mana and carried me back as well as ripping apart a whole flock of cabbages with one wind spell!"

"Yeah, when I was surrounded by cabbages and monsters, Kazuma showed up and captured all the cabbages attacking me, thank you for rescuing me."

"Indeed, you have outperformed yourself on this occasion, shitty apprentice."

I pounded the table with one hand.

"Mention that again..."

With my other hand, I picked up a piece of cabbage and noisily chemwed it while staring at Aqua.

She shuddered and shut up.

Content, I glanced at the newest member of our party.

Darkness couldn't hit her target at all, though she was quite a looker.

She put all her skill points into defensive skills, so normal skills learned by vanguards such as '2-hand sword' or skills that raised her proficiency with weapons were ignored.

She had an appearance of a cool beauty, so it was a pity.

And as a masochist, this crusader loved to charge into the midst of a group of monsters.

"Ugh… Ah, the feeling of being ravaged by cabbage and monsters is unbearable… I am the only orthodox vanguard in this party, so don't hold back, use me as a bait or shield. If it is necessary, you can even cut me off as a sacrifice… Hmmm! Just, just imagining that made me tremble in excitement…!"

Darkness' face was blushing as she shivered slightly.

See what I mean?

* * *

On a hill far away from town.

There was a public cemetery for poor and homeless people.

The dead are buried in this world.

A hole would be dug and they would be covered with earth.

Our quest this time was defeating the undead monsters that were emerging from the cemetery. As an arch priest, was the perfect opportunity for Aqua to level up.

"… It's getting cold. Nah, Kazuma, our quest is to take down the zombie maker right? I have a feeling it won't be a small fry like that, but a big shot undead."

It was late at night and the moon had risen.

"Hey, don't say such ominous things, you'll raise a flag. Now, we'll leave the purifying to Aqua, and back her up if she's somehow overwhelmed."

Everyone nodded and agreed with me.

It was about time.

"Enemies ahead, 1, 2… 3, 4…?"

There should just be two or three zombies minions around a zombie maker.

But this was still within the margin of error.

As I was thinking that, blue and white lights suddenly shone from the middle of the cemetery.

Up closer, the blue light that was visible from afar was caused by a giant magic circle.

 _A necromancer. Some sort of Greater Ritual?_

At the edge of the magic circle was a figure in black robes.

"I don't think that's a zombie maker." Megumin said unconfidently.

Beside the black robed figure were several fluttering shadows.

"Are we going in or not? Even if that isn't a zombie maker, anyone staying in the cemetery at this hour is probably an undead or a necromancer. If that is the case, it wouldn't be a problem with Aqua around."

Darkness took out her sword and seemed anxious to move on.

Suddenly, our resident (lol)goddess screamed she charged at the robed figure.

"Wait! Hey, wait up!"

The charging Aqua ignored me and rushed to the figure, pointing at it with her finger.

"How dare of you to show up here, Lich! I will take care of you!"

Lich.

In games, they were powerful mages that deserted their mortal bodies become immortals.

Unlike the undead monsters in this world that rose because of strong grudges, they twisted the order of nature and were existences that defied the gods..

A powerful monster, akin to a final boss…

"Stop, stop–! Who are you? Where did you come from and why are you destroying my magic circle? Stop! Could you please stop?"

"You are noisy, shut up undead! You must be thinking of using this suspicious magic circle for devious means, I will stomp it! Stomp!"

The lich grabbed onto Aqua's waist in tears, attempting to stop her from stepping on the magic circle.

The minions besides the lich did not move in to stop the two of them wrestling with each other, and just stood there watching them blankly.

"Stop–! Please stop–! This magic circle is used to send the wandering spirits to heaven! Look, the spirits are floating from the magic circle towards the sky right?"

Just as the lich said, lots of wisp-like bluish white objects that came from nowhere drift into the magic circle and was goes up into the sky along with the light of the magic circle.

"You are acting too arrogant for a Lich! An arch priest like me will perform such benevolent acts, so just scram! You are taking too much time, watch me purify the whole cemetery along with you!"

"Eh? Wait, stop!"

The Lich started to panic when she heard Aqua's words.

But Aqua ignored her, opened her arms and shouted.

" **Turn undead–!** "

A white light encompassed the entire cemetery with Aqua in the middle.

That light seemed to be gushing out from Aqua's body and the zombies around the Lich disappeared when they were touched by the light.

 _So this is the equivalent of the Baptism Rite used by the Church in this world? It is_ also _used to disperse spiritual bodies._

It was the same with the spirits gathering at the magic circle of the Lich, they disappeared when Aqua's light reached them. The Lich was also basked in that light…

"Hyaaa–! My, my body is fading? Stop, my body is disappearing! I will be purified!"

"Hahahaha, foolish Lich! Your existence goes against the law of nature, an undead which defies the will of the gods! Disappear, be vanquished by my power!"

I walked behind Aqua and knocked the back of her head with my fist.

"…! That hurts! Why did you hit me!?"

Her focus was probably broken when the back of her head was hit and she stopped emitting light. She held her head and scolded me with tearing eyes.

I ignored Aqua and spoke to the Lich that was trembling while curled in a ball:

"Hey, are you fine? Erm… Can I address you as Lich?"

Looking closely, the feet of the Lich had turned translucent and was on the verge of disappearing.

The feet slowly became opaque again, and the Lich stood up unsteadily with teary eyes.

"I, I, I'm fine… Thank, thank you for saving me from that crisis…! Erm, you are right, I am a Lich, my name is Wiz."

After that, she took off the hood she was wearing closely. What appeared under the moonlight was a beautiful woman with brown hair that seems around 20 years old.

Wait, aren't lichs supposed to have skeletal bodies?

I let my sixth sense unravel and simultaneously cast Structural Grasp on her... and I instinctively drew the Jewelled Sword from under my cloak.

Shit. A materialised soul!

Is she the wielder of Heaven's Feel?!

* * *

 **AN:** Fun Fact: Kazuma's Origin is _Divergence_ and he's also an Average One.


	7. Gators and Teleportation

"Eh?"

Wiz stared at the Jeweled Sword that was drawn at her.

I slowly lowered my hand and thought about this rationally.

Aqua's 'Turn Undead' almost dispersed this 'lich', and a materialised soul wouldn't be affected by such a thing, even if it was cast by a Divine Spirit. Judging by how she was fading, Wiz should be a kind of existence closer to a ghost liner or servant, a being that requires mana to sustain itself. But only a fragment of Heaven's Feel is capable of creating such entities. I decided that was a question for another time.

I sighed.

"Sorry, I just mistook you for ... someone else."

"What are you doing Kazuma! Be careful, you could get contaminated if you talk to this bad apple! Let me cast 'Turn Undead' on her!"

Wiz hid behind me with a troubled and terrified expression:

"Be, because… as a lich, I could sense the presence of wandering spirits. Most of the spirits in this public cemetery don't have money and didn't have a proper burial, so they couldn't move on to the afterlife and loiter in the cemetery every night. Since I am an overlord of the undying, I visit periodically and send them on their way."

It seems that this World has a twisted sense of humour. There are only two relatively sane and nice people I have encountered thus far, and one was a lich.

"That's very kind of you, but wouldn't it be better to leave this to the local priests?"

In response to my query, Wiz was hesitant to speak as she peeked at the unhappy Aqua, and finally said:

"Be, because… the priests in this town are materialistic… Eh, no, I mean… the rites for those without money would be pushed down their waiting list… something like that…"

Everyone stared at Aqua silently, while she turned her eyes to the ground.

"Since that is the case, it couldn't be helped. But could you stop animating the zombies? We are here because of a quest to defeat a zombie maker."

Wiz was troubled by what I said.

"Ah, I see. But I didn't animate them, the corpses that are intact would rise automatically due to my magic every time I come… Erm, I won't have any reason to visit if the spirits in the cemetery won't wander anymore and return to heaven. So how should we resolve this?"

...

"I can't accept this!"

Aqua was still fuming.

After some discussion, we decided to let Wiz off and arrange for Aqua to purify the cemetery periodically.

While the goddess in question knew that purifying the undead and wandering spirits was her job, she still threw a tantrum because her sleep time would be reduced.

For Megumin and Darkness, who were hesitant about letting a monster off, agreed after learning Wiz had never attacked a human before.

What concerned me the most was the possibility of other Magicians having a presence in this World. Aqua had referred to Zelretch as 'The Sage of the South', and the Fourth Magician is still somewhere out there. Perhaps a wielder of Heaven's Feel had also visited this world before?

I looked at the paper Wiz gave me that held her address. Apparently, she seemed to be living life as a normal human and even ran a small magic item shop.

"We were lucky that things were resolved peacefully. Even with Aqua and Kazuma, the opponent was still a Lich. If we really fought, I doubt that we would win." Megumin said nonchalantly.

"Eh, are lichs that dangerous?" Darkness asked.

"It's much worse than that! Lichs have high magic resistance, nothing could have harmed her except enchanted weapons and perhaps Kazuma's mana beams. She could trigger all sorts of abnormal status just by touching her enemies and drain their life and mana; a legendary immortal monster. What surprised me was why Aqua's 'Turn Undead' had such great effect on such a powerful being."

 _Wait, human spirits such as servants and wraiths have the ability to consume the souls of people and convert them into energy. Interesting..._

"Kazuma, give me the name card. I want to set up a holy barrier around the home of that woman and make her cry."

"Let it go Aqua."

"By the way, what about the quest to defeat the zombie maker?" Darkness asked quietly.

And that's how we failed our quest.

* * *

 **A few days later**

Our leader, Kazuma was a strange person. He is always so serious and keeps muttering strange things to himself at times. But I know there's a depraved side to him; I caught him staring at me a few times. These eyes must be mentally stripping me of my clothes, planning to ravish-

"Darkness, concentrate!"

And did I mention his commanding voice? I look forward to the day when he orders me to come to his bedroom and-

Wait, I must focus on the mission first!

The explosion fired off by Megumin had agitated the manticore and the griffon; uprooting trees and rending great scars into the earth as they fought each other.

All of a sudden, a great whirlwind kicked up around them, blowing dirt and obscuring the visions of both 'Phantasmal Beasts' as Kazuma insists on calling them. That's another quirk of his, giving strange names to things. I'm pretty sure most mages don't call their mana 'Od'. Perhaps he hails from a far-away land?

" **Beauty of Nature**!"

The seeds thrown around the battling monsters sprouted madly from the ground; the vines wrapping around the limbs of the two battling monsters. It would only hold them for a few seconds, but that's all I need.

Aqua and Kazuma had cast spells that he said would exponentially increase my endurance. Now I'll fulfill the role of meat shield and absorb the monsters's attacks happily! I took a step... and the earth exploded beneath my foot as I shot off, landing almost on top of the two beasts.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

As I fell, I punched the duelling monsters.

Boom!

...

Where did this crater and the pool of blood, and pulverised flesh come from?

* * *

 **Lake**

"… Nah… Are we really going to do it this way?"

Aqua sounded really uneasy.

A plan made my me, who has high intelligence, should be flawless right?

"I felt like a captured rare monster that is going to be sold…"

While Kazuma was busy doing 'research', whatever that means, Aqua managed to coerce Darkness and myself to accompany her on a quest.

 _'– Lake purification–The lake which was one of the water sources for the town had been polluted. Brutal alligators had moved into the lake. Request for someone to purify the lake. The monsters in the lake will leave after purifying the lake, there is no need to fight the monsters *Requirement: Priest with purification magic. Reward is 300,000 Eris.'_

In the beginning, I was planning to let Aqua stay inside the cage some distance away from the cage. But since purification required contact with the waters, the plan had evolved into this.

Darkness and I had already moved Aqua's cage to the side of the lake. It was an enchanted steel cage, a piece of equipment we loaned from the guild. As some requests include capturing monsters, these items were meant for such quests.

We didn't come here to throw Aqua into the lake, so we don't need to carry it too far. We just need to put it by the lake so Aqua could come into contact with the water. This way, she would be fine even if the brutal alligators attacked her while she was purifying the waters.

It was a cage meant to transport captured monsters anyway, it should be able to keep Aqua who was inside safe.

I heard from the guild staff that the monsters would leave the lake after purification was completed. But just in case they refuse to leave Aqua after that, we attached a strong chain to the cage. Because the cage was heavy, we dragged it here using the horse we borrowed from town. In the event of an emergency, we could use the horse to drag the cage and escape.

The cage had been lowered into the edge of the lake, soaking Aqua's feet and buttocks in water.

"I feel like a tea bag being drained of its flavor…"

...

"The brutal alligators are not coming, it would be great if things end peacefully like this." I said to Darkness. Aqua had been dutifully purifying the lake for the past two hours,

Aqua had been dutifully purifying the lake for the past two hours, however she hasn't shone any signs of fatigue yet.

And as if on cue, ripples appeared somewhere on the lake.

 **— 4 hours since purification began–**

"'Purification'! 'Purification', 'Purification'–!

A large group of alligators were surrounding Aqua's cage and gnawing at it.

"'Purification'! 'Purification'–! The cage is creaking! It's creaking! The cage, the cage is making weird sounds!"

Aqua screamed in the cage, but I couldn't blow them away with explosion magic either since she would also be caught in it, so we had no choice but to wait.

"Aqua–! Tell us if you want to give up–! If you want to give up, we will drag you along with the cage with the chain–!"

I had been shouting that towards the cage for some time now, but Aqua refused to abort the quest despite being terrified.

"I, I don't wanna! Giving up now means wasting the time I spent so far, and not being able to collect the bounty! 'Purification'! 'Purification'–! … Waahhahhh–! There was a cracking sound! The cage made a sound it shouldn't be making!"

Aqua screamed in tears while the brutal alligator that surrounded her didn't even look at us.

Darkness mumbled to herself as she looked at the situation over there.

"… Staying in that cage seemed rather good…:

 **— 7 hours after purification began–**

The battered cage was alone in the lake.

There were bite marks all over the cage after the brutal alligators attacked it. The purification was probably done, so the brutal alligator left the cage and moved upstream. The sound of Aqua chanting purification spell couldn't be heard anymore.

Or rather, about an hour ago, we did not hear Aqua who was surrounded by the brutal alligators make any sound.

"Hey Aqua, are you alright? The brutal alligators had left for some other place."

We approached the cage to check on how Aqua was doing.

"… Sniff… Ugh… Hic…"

I suppose it was hard to blame her acting like this under these circumstances.

* * *

 **Still later**

"Experiment 145: Spatial Transference."

The twig in the middle of the room-spanning magic circle glowed then vanished.

And as expected, it reappeared, poking up my nose.

I gave a howl of rage as I snapped the piece of wood.

So far, all of my attempts at circumventing the Demon Lord's Barrier have failed. Having observed the mages here, I can only conclude that it must be a fellow sorcerer that's stopping me; most likely the wielder of the Fourth.

Unfortunately, I do not know domain the Fourth Magic presided over, and that old bastard hadn't told me. The only thing he told me was that the Fourth Magician is: " _Oh, **that** women. She's an old friend of mine. Has a taste for slightly ostentatious clothing, and always wears an unnerving smile. I suppose for most people, it's pretty intimidating."_

Which doesn't help me at all.

On the bright side, I found a place where I can practice using the Kaleidoscope. An old, abandoned castle at the outskirts of the town now served as my workshop. While the Resonance of Shared Knowledge is a bit risky attempting at this point, I believe I've got spatial transference and jumping between worldlines down pat.

" **Explosion!"**

And the ground gave way beneath me.

* * *

"What do you mean you have to cast explosion every day?!"

"It's a physiological need! If I don't cast my daily explosion, I'll die!"

"Bullshit!"

As Megumin prepared to give another excuse-

"Emergency broadcast! Emergency broadcast! Attention all adventurers, please prepare your combat equipment and report to the main gate of the city ready for combat!"

Megumin and I followed the flow of adventurers to the gate... where a figure in black armour and an army of undead stood waiting.

Looking closer, the figure had no head. Or rather, its head was tucked in the crook of its left arm.

"Which one of you is the 'Kaleidoscope'?"

* * *

.

.

.

 **AN:** Well, I hope this was a decent chapter... And super buffed/reinforced Darkness is terrifyingly strong, but just as clumsy as before. And writing her POV is hard.


	8. Dullahan

"… Kaleidoscope?"

"Wait, isn't that some kind of magic stat?"

"Yeah, it belonged to that guy with the rigged adventurer card right?"

Slowly, the gazes of the people assembled were drawn to me.

To be fair, this situation wasn't entirely unexpected; though I had thought that the assaults carried out by the army would prevent the Demon Lord's forces from directly coming to Axel Town and investigating.

I walked towards the headless knight, most likely a dullahan, and the rest of my party followed behind me.

". **Darkness blacker than black and darker than dark,**  
 **I beseech thee, combine with my deep crimson...** "

"Max Stat Buff."

Having realised the imminent fight that was about to break out, Megumin had already begun to chant the incantation for Explosion under her breath while Aqua buffed Darkness.

"So it's you…! You are the arch-mage who's constantly assaulting the barrier?"

" **The time of awakening cometh.**

 **Justice, fallen upon the infallible boundary,**

 **appear now as an intangible distortions.** "

 _The undead knights behind him seemed to be grouped closely to each other._

"Do you know how annoying that is?! Because of you, the Sage only gets 16 hours of sleep every night! That's two hours less than her usual. And do you know who she takes her frustration out on? ME!"

 _Good. The more riled up he is, the better. The Fourth most likely sent him to test my capabilities; this means that she either has a familiar hidden under presence concealment somewhere nearby, she can see through the eyes of this dullahan, or she is here herself._

"I am Beldia, a General of th-"

 _Talking is not a free action_.

I drew the Jeweled Sword and swung. Four simultaneous strikes from different directions, diverging from a single swing. Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomena.

Four beams of white crossed the distance between the dullahan and I in an instant, curving around and striking him.

" **Return all creation to cinders,**

 **and come forth from the abyss!**

 **EXPLOSION!** "

The undead knights were blown apart. As for Beldia-

He walked out of the resulting crater, intact.

"How?" Megumin asked from where she was lying on the ground.

"I cut the air to create a void. It was one of the techniques I developed to cut beyond the reach of my sword. I never managed to employ it in such a manner before, perhaps because I had yet to be caught in an explosion."

While the dullahan may have survived, he did not go unscathed. His armour was heavily damaged, charred and partially melted in some areas. His left arm seemed to have suffered the most damage; all the armour between his wrist and just above his elbow had been broken. The metal had fallen away to reveal some sort of black leather sleeve beneath, but the main protection was gone. And his head seemed to be strangely absent...

"I have underestimated you, Kaleidoscope. It seems that your magic is potent enough to partially overcome the magic resistance of my armour, even though it was enchanted by the Sage herself."

The ominous aura around the Demon Lord General increased as he unclipped the twisted greatsword strapped to his back. No, that thing was too big to be called a sword. Too big, and too heavy. It was more like a large hunk of steel with an edge.

"You should be honoured to have pushed me to use the Slayer of Dragons! "

With that declaration, Beldia charged at us.

* * *

The sword comes from my right flank, and I see the blade flow in a diagonal cut. Beldia's formidable speed almost seems to make time flow in discrete events rather than arbitrary measurements of seconds. There wasn't enough time to dodge.

So I manipulate the space between the sword and my body, the distance widening until the slash misses me.

This seems to snap the assembled adventurer's out of their role as bystanders. They rushed in, blocking me from the dullahan.

"Hmmp, if you all could defeat me through a stroke of luck, you would get a hefty sum of come, novice adventurers dreaming of getting rich instantly. All of you, come at me together!"

"Hey, no matter how strong it is, it's injured and it doesn't have eyes on its back! Surround it and attack!"

That definitely raised a death flag.

Beldia laughed as the adventurers charged at him.

The fight that the adventurers put up could not even be called resistance. Somehow, Beldia seemed to possess an awareness of everything around him, easily dodging blows that came from behind and out of his field of view. He toyed with the adventurers, giving them half-assed blows. Soon he would grow bored and then the killing would start. _That can't be allowed to happen._

I leapt over Megumin's prone form and rushed over to Darkness, casting Reinforcement on her body.

"Darkness, as soon as you see Beldia, attack him."

Placing one hand on her shoulder, the air around us warped as we _jumped_

* * *

-to a parallel world, then reappeared behind Beldia.

Darkness swung her in a downward slash, though Beldia somehow already noticed and was twisting away...

And was hit by the shockwave of compressed air that was pushed from the edge of Darkness's sword.

This time, the armour covering his torso was destroyed.

"Now Aqua!"

 **"Turn Undead!"**

With instincts that bordered on precognition, Beldia backstepped, avoiding the pillar of light that descended on his former position.

 _His head must be overlooking the entire battleground somehow._

"Tch, to force me to use this. You will die one week from now!"

The dullahan pointed at me, only to have Darkness crash in front of me, intercepting the spell.

 _Was that a proclamation of death?_

"Darkness are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere?" I asked in a hurry, but Darkness stretched her hands a few times to confirm it.

"…Yeah, I didn't feel anything."

She said casually.

Nevertheless, she will die one week from now.

That is unacceptable.

 **"I am the truth of creation, In face of all things, thy defeat is certain."** I raised a hand to the sky.

The skies were set alight with a blue, prana devouring flame.

"AAAAUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!"

Something high up became visible and dropped down. It sent the dullahan into a panic, causing him to rush towards the falling object.

"Steal."

Only to have the head reappear in the hands of a silver haired thief.

* * *

"There, I released the death curse, now give me my head back please."

"No. I will dismember you and turn what's left into a wand for cursecraft."

"E-Eh, Kazuma, you're joking right?" Chris asked hesitantly.

"Yes. A vivisection is more what I had in mind."

" **Sacred T** **urn Undead**." Aqua decided to purify the dullahan before I could have my way with him. Beldia's body was covered in a white light, turned translucent and gradually disappeared. Honestly, the last expression on his face seemed to be of relief as he faded away.

While the adventurers cheered in victory, Darkness knelt on one knee and prayed with her eyes closed at the spot the Dullahan disappeared.

Seeing Darkness act this way, Megumin, who had recovered enough to stand up by leaning on me, asked her hesitantly: "… Darkness, what are you doing?"

Darkness closed her eyes, replying as if she was reciting a monologue in her heart:

"I am praying. The Dullahan was a knight who was unjustly executed and turned into a monster because of its grudge. It might be weird to say this after smashing it with my sword, but no harm praying for it…"

"I see…"

We remained here in silence for a few minutes when...

" _ **Let the demarcation between Sky and Earth be crushed.**_

Everything went wrong.

* * *

.

.

.

.

 **AN:** Sorry about the short length, I just wanted to get the battle done. Not much character interaction in this chapter, but that will be rectified in the next one.


	9. Aftershock

The ground beneath our feet exploded.

It was as if the earth itself was trying its hardest to reach the heavens. As we went thrown into the air, I could see the same thing happen to the rest of Axel Town. Buildings collapsed as their foundations fractured into pieces and flew up. The flagstones paving the streets broke apart, morphing into a cloud of shrapnel. A figure cloaked in shadow floated above the destruction contentedly.

I cast my will against the World, and a lens of wind appeared under us, turning our fall into a controlled descent. The Jeweled Sword burst into light once more, drawing mana from a hundred other worlds and growing impossibly bright. So much power that my body felt as though it would shatter just from being _near_ it...

As I fell, I raised the blade and released enough power to crack the firmament directly up at the Fourth Magician.

She didn't even bother to dodge. Instead, she simply swiped one arm, deflecting the beam into the sky, blasting away any cloud cover in the vicinity. It was as if an attack of such caliber was nothing to her; that it was as harmful as a gust of wind.

I landed on the ground and stared as the form of Sorceress stretched taller and taller, thinner and thinner until she slipped into a gap between the fibers of space itself and vanished.

 _''...''_

I turn around to see a pulse of prana expand from the other end of the town, and the earth ceased to move, rendered inert.

 _Wiz._

The lich must have cast a counter-spell of some sort.

''WWWW-What the hell was that?!''

Megumin was covered in dirt from our fall and looked wide-eyed at the devastation left behind.

''A single attack levelled the town... '' Darkness, unliked her usual masochistic self, seemed worried.

"..." Chris seemed to be speechless. Funnily, she was the only person who wasn't covered in dirt. How high is her luck stat?

''That-that bitch! I'm going to- uuggghhh. To dare defile my body with dirt!'' And Aqua's reaction was as I expected.

 _Is this the power of a Magician who has fully mastered their Sorcery?_

Then again, the old bastard did boast that he managed to push the falling moon back into orbit...

* * *

''Just leave such things to me, Kazuma! At my level, I can easily resurrect people who have recently died!''

''Wait, as in actual, full restoration? Complete restoration of the soul?''

''Yep.''

I felt an incoming migraine. Aqua is not the bloody Third Magician! How is this even possible?

Oblivious to the mental pain she was causing me, Aqua proceeded to resurrect the people who were killed in the aftermath of the attack on Axel Town.

In most cases, the victims were crushed by rubble or torn to shreds by shrapnel, so it was somewhat surreal to see flesh and bone rearrange themselves with sickening slurps and cracks while blood flowed back into bodies.

Megumin was emptying the contents of her stomach while Darkness's was visibly holding back her gag reflex.

I was effectively immunized to such sights after that time when Zelretch dumped me in-

No, I mustn't think about that, least I remember it. Those suppositories...

* * *

Somehow, a small portion of the town was spared from destruction thanks to the timely actions of a certain lich. That portion happened to contain the Adventurer's Guild.

As Aqua finished resurrecting the dead, something nagged at me. Beldia's broken armour and his sword were nowhere to be found. They could simply be lost in the wake of the Fourth Magician's attack, but there was also the possibility that they were retrieved by the Fourth. Could Dullahans be resurrected?

Normally, such a question would be ludicrous, but since a Divine Spirit could freely perform resurrections, even such absurdities needed to be considered.

There was also the issue of the motives behind the Fourth's assault. She could have crushed the entire town in an instant, yet she settled with an attack that didn't even kill everyone. Was it simply a distraction? An attempt to intimidate me? To provoke me? For what? And why was she seemingly affiliated with the Demon Lord?

I opened the guild doors.

The passion of the crowd and the strong scent of alcohol greeted me. The adventurers held a party in broad daylight to commemorate the defeat of a General of the Demon Lord's army.

"Ah! You are too slow Kazuma! Everyone is starting to get smashed!" Aqua told me as I entered the guild.

"Nah, hurry and collect the bounty Kazuma! Almost all the adventurers had claimed their rewards for defeating the demon king boss! I did too! But as you can see, I drank a lot of it away!"

Aqua was really happy, opening her money pouch for me to see. She then scratched her head and laughed cheerfully.

At least she was a happy drunk.

On a closer look, many of the adventurers inside the guild were so drunk they couldn't even walk steadily.

I headed for the counter, where Darkness and Megumin were.

"You are finally here, Kazuma. Quick, collect your reward."

"I waited really long for you Kazuma. Drakness is being really petty, saying it was too early for me to drink…"

"Wait, it has nothing to do with being petty, that's not what I meant…!"

The two of them started bickering, so I approached the counter lady, whose name I had learned was Luna.

For some reason, she had a really awkward expression.

"Eh, well… Satou Kazuma-san correct? We had been expecting you."

"Well… first would be the rewards for these two ladies."

The counter lady then gave two small bags to Darkness and Megumin.

Strange, what about me?

As I was getting suspicious, the counter lady spoke: "Actually, the guild had decided to present a special reward for Kazuma's party."

"Huh, why just us?"

When I asked, someone answered me.

"Hey, if it weren't for you guys, there's no way we could have beaten that dullahan!"

In response to that, the drunkards agreed rowdily.

"Ahem– To honor Satou Kazuma and his party's victory over the demon king's army boss Beldia… The guild awards them 300 million Eris."

The other members of my party were speechless.

Knowing something was up, I wasn't as euthanistic and waited for the punchline.

The other adventurers turned silent when they heard the amount.

"Hey, 300 million, it's your treat Kazuma–!"

"Woah–! Kazuma-sama, treat us treat us–!"

Adventurers started asking me to buy the bill.

Under these circumstances, the counter lady showed an apologetic face and handed me a paper.

Zero. A whole line of nothing but zeroes.

Aqua came over to me and peeked at the paper in my hand.

"Eh, things are like this. Because Kazuma-san's attacks on the Demon Lord's castle caused the dullahan to come here in the first place, the damage to the town was indirectly caused by you... But taking into consideration the merit of defeating a boss of the demon king, the town won't ask for any compensation..."

After making this announcement, the counter lady slowly averted her gaze and left the counter in a hurry.

"Such misfortune..."

 _Perhaps I actually have E-Rank Luck?_


	10. Shopkeeper

**A few days after Beldia's defeat:**

"Remember Aqua, you can't make a mess or act violently. And don't use any magic, understand?"

This was a tiny shop that sold magic items.

Printed neatly on the sign above the store were the words: 'Magic Shop Reon'

Aqua tilted her head with a confused expression.

"Hey, why are you restricting me from this and that? I have been meaning to ask you, who do you think I am? A delinquent or a bandit? I am a goddess, alright? A holy being incapable of sin."

 _Does she even realise the sheer hypocrisy of her statement?_

I dragged Aqua, who acted like a troublesome kid instead of a goddess, and opened the door of the shop.

The bell on the door rang crisply, announcing our arrival to the owner.

"Welcome… Ahhh!?"

"Ahhhh!? You finally showed up, damn undead! You dare set up shop here!? A goddess like me has to sleep in the stables, but you can open a shop? You're getting too full of yourself, lich! I will burn your store down in the name of the gods!"

I whacked the back of Aqua's head with the hand that wasn't holding the basket.

As expected, she was running amok despite my reminder.

I ignored Aqua, who was sulking in a corner, and greeted the frightened owner.

"Hello, Wiz."

* * *

"Hmmph, doesn't this shop know how to serve tea?"

"Ah, sorry! I will bring it now!"

"Don't serve her tea! Once you start to indulge her, there's no going back."

I stopped Wiz from following the orders of Aqua, who was picking on her.

This was my first time in a magic item shop, so I toured around it, examining the merchandise.

"Ah, that will explode on strong impact, so please be careful."

I put the small bottle back on its shelf carefully.

As I reached for another bottle beside it-

"Ah, that one will explode if you open the cap, so…"

I placed that bottle back gently and picked up the one beside it.

"What about this one?"

"It will explode when it touches water."

"How about that one?"

"It explodes when heated…"

"Does your shop only sell explosives?"

"Ah, no! All the iterations of the explosive bottle series just happen to be on that shelf!"

* * *

"I came here to properly thank you for dispelling that earth spell"

"Ah, there's no need! I did what any other mage would do in that situation..."

"You don't give yourself enough credit. Anyway, here's some fruit and snacks I've brought; consider it my thanks to you."

"Oh..."

Wiz looked torn on whether she should refuse to take the basketful food or not.

"Ugu~" The sound of a hungry stomach.

"Ehehe, thanks." Blushing, yet unable to restrain herself, Wiz quickly took an apple and started eating.

 _Just how hungry is she?_

"Anyway, just out of curiosity, but do lich's have any skills unique to them?"

"Puu!"

"Hyaaa!"

After hearing what I said, Aqua spat the tea in her mouth all over Wiz.

"Hey, what are you asking, Kazuma! The skills of a lich? Do you want to learn a lich's skills or something!? The skills of a lich are all evil! It would be bad if you learned such skills! Listen, liches are something like the relative of slugs that like dark and wet places."

"How, how mean!"

Hearing Aqua's definition, Wiz was in tears.

"I don't give a shit. Plus, such skills should be classified as racial skills, abilities that only a member of the species can possess."

"But… As a goddess, I can't stand you even knowing about the skills of a lich…"

Hearing Aqua's grumbles, Wiz asked hesitantly.

"'As a goddess'? Erm, I was almost destroyed when you used Turn Undead. Could it be that you're are a real goddess?"

"You could say that. You probably won't spread this around, so I shall tell you. I am Aqua. That's right, the patron goddess revered by the axis cult. Mind your manners, lich!"

"Eek!"

Wiz made a face of terror I had never seen on her face before and hid behind me.

"Hey Wiz, I know undead and goddess are akin to water and oil, but you don't need to fear her that much."

I consoled her, but Wiz said:

"No, I don't mean it that way… I heard that the Axis cultists have severe psychological problems, so it's best not to get involved with them lest you inherit their distorted world view. And she said she is the goddess of their cult, so I…"

"What did you say!?

"Sor, sorry!"

I chased Aqua to the side, letting her browse the items in the shop.

She obediently shopped around, picking some potions randomly and sniffed inside.

I kept an eye on her to ensure that she doesn't poison herself or blow herself up.

"Speaking of which, that Beldia-san was a powerful swordsman among the demon lord's generals; you guys are amazing to defeat him so quickly." Wiz smiled gently as she said this.

"'That Beldia-san'? It sounds as if you were acquaintances..."

In the face of my query, Wiz said in an idle manner: "Ah, I didn't make this clear before; I am also a general of the demon lord's army."

"Catch her!"

Aqua ,who was browsing the merchandise, suddenly pounced on Wiz.

"Wait! Aqua-sama, please let me explain!" Wiz wailed.

Aqua wiped the sweat from her cheeks and reported her victory.

"This is great Kazuma! We will become rich! Not just renting a place, we could even buy a mansion!"

I squatted down and looked at Wiz who was subdued by Aqua.

"Hey Aqua, let's listen to her… Erm, what does being a general exactly entail? If you are a spy, we can't let you off…"

After hearing this, Wiz explained in tears: "That's wrong! I was asked by the demon lord's Sage to maintain the barrier to the demon king castle! I have never harmed anyone before. I might be a boss, but I am actually a (lol) boss! You won't get any rewards for defeating me!"

"… I don't know what you are saying, but we should play it safe and destroy you."

"Wait a moment Aqua-sama!" Wiz who was pinned under Aqua screamed again.

I stopped Aqua who had started chanting in a hurry.

"It was the Sage who requested this of me. Because I didn't stop running a shop casually on human territory, the only thing she asked me to do as general was to maintain the barrier! She said no one would suspect that a boss of the demon king would set up a shop in a human town, so the barrier would be safe!"

"Which means humans can't attack the demon lord's castle if you are alive. This will give us plenty of trouble. Kazuma, let's do away with her."

Upon hearing Aqua's words, Wiz vehemently protested: "Wait, please wait! With Aqua-sama's power, you could easily break through the barrier created by two or three generals! But there are eight generals in the demon lord's army, there will still be six generals even if you defeat me. Even Aqua-sama can't break through the barrier of six generals! If you want to attack the demon lord's castle, you have to defeat the other generals. I beg you to let me live before you take out the others! I still have some things I need to take care of…"

Facing the crying Wiz who was pinned by her, Aqua made an awkward expression.

She would glance at me every now and then. Did she want me to make the decision?

"Eh, I think that should be fine right? Even if we defeat Wiz now, the barrier would still be intact. The main obstacle would still be their 'Sage'."

"But, would that really be okay? The generals of the demon lord are Wiz's acquaintances, right? Won't you get angry at us?"

Wiz pondered for a moment and said: "Beldia-san and I weren't on great terms. He rolls his head under my skirt to peek at me when I took strolls. There is only one person who was on good terms with me among the generals. And that person… doesn't die when he's killed… Also,"

As Wiz spoke, she–

"As of now, I have decided to live as a human."

-had a lonely smile.

* * *

"So what can you tell us about the Sage?"

"Well, I was forced to sign a magical contract when I became a general to prevent me from giving too much information... but here's what I know."

 _So she's under a Geass or something like it? Damn!_

"The Sage is not human, at least not completely. She's more like a force of nature, or a living concept. She has no weaknesses, and even killing her is useless. In that, I think she may have been one of the Sages of old, who created the foundation of magecraft. The only thing that could potentially defeat her is something of equal power. Even drain touch was useless... and she possesses an eccentric personality. Honestly though, her intentions aren't going to negatively affect humanity that much. The demon lord is but the figurehead... and that's all I can tell you. Sorry."

"That's ok, but eh, what is Drain Touch?

"Oh, it's a lich skill that allows me to drain some life force out of living organisms. I can control the quantity I drain and also transfer my mana to other people. I can give you a demonstration..."

 _So it's like a variation of the plundering ability possessed by oni-hybrids which enables them to steal the Od of other beings. In this case, Wiz can both take and give Od._

"Hey, Aqua, go."

"Ah? A mere undead wants to use her skills on me?"

Facing Aqua's intimidation, Wiz took a few steps back in fear.

One was a powerful lich, the other a goddess.

But looking at the two of them, I don't know which was the goddess and which was the lich.

"It's fine, no problem. Drain as much as you like, come!"

Aqua extended her hand.

Wiz timidly took Aqua's hand…

"Erm, excuse me…? What is happening?"

"Ara ara are you okay? Didn't you want to drain my health and mana? Ara ara, you are a top tier undead, but you can't even use drain touch?"

Unlike the arrogant Aqua, Wiz looked as if she was going to cry at any moment.

"What, what is happening–!?"

Seemed like Aqua was resisting her, not letting her drain any of her Od.

I silently slapped the back of her head.

"That hurts!? Hey, don't interrupt me Kazuma! This is a battle between a lich and a goddess! I am the elite amongst the goddess, how could I let her drain me so easily!"

"Just let her drain a little! Sorry Wiz."

I apologize to Wiz on Aqua's behalf. Wiz shook her head widely.

"It's, it's fine! It's it's because I am a lich…"

I asked Wiz to display her skill again.

"Well then, excuse me…"

Wiz took Aqua's hand and used 'Drain touch' once more.

"Erm, Aqua-sama? It's fine now, could you release your hand… And the hand that you are grabbing is turning numb, please let go!"

After Aqua heard what Wiz said, she held on to Wiz's right hand tightly, and used her other free hand to grab Wiz too.

"Ah, Aqua-sama? Erm, my hand is hot… Also, it hurts, it hurts! Aqua-sama, my body is gradually… being purified and evaporating! I am disappearing, Aqua-sama! I will disappear if this goes on!"

My reinforced fist found itself buried in Aqua's gut. Sure, it's violence against women and all, but Wiz is about to die.

With a grunt, Aqua fell to the ground in pain while her victim looked more faded.

— At this moment.

"Pardon my intrusion, is Ms. Wiz here?"

A middle-aged man opened the door and walked in, ringing the bell.

* * *

"Evil spirits?"

The visitor was a real estate agent. apparently, there was an abandoned mansion on the outskirts of town that wasn't destroyed. It suffers from an infestation of wraiths, and other adventurers either refused to take the exorcism quest or didn't know what to do.

"No matter how we exorcise them, the evil spirits kept coming one after another. Selling the house aside, it is a pain just clearing the houses of spirits."

The middle-aged man sighed with a fatigued expression.

"Before Ms. Wiz set up shop here, she was a powerful mage. Whenever the people in town run into any difficulty, they would seek Ms. Wiz for aid. And Ms. Wiz seemed to be the expert on handling undead monsters. That's why I am here asking for her help."

This man probably didn't know Wiz's true identity, but Wiz was really suited for something like this.

But that man seemed troubled as he looked at Wiz.

"But… Ms Wiz seems unwell today. Your face had always been pale, but it's even more so today. How should I put it, it feels… as if you could disappear at any moment…"

"…"

I stared wordlessly at Aqua who was planning to purify Wiz. She immediately averted her gaze in an awkward manner.

Wiz revealed an awkward smile and patted her chest.

"No problems, leave it to me. We just need to settle the evil spirits in town right?"

"Ah, no! I wasn't planning on troubling Ms Wiz to exorcise all the evil spirits in town… just that mansion would be enough."

"Ah, that mansion. I see…"

"Leave it to me. I just need to expel the spirits wandering in that mansion, correct?"

After hearing that, Wiz immediately stood up, but sat down again due to the lack of strength.

"Ah, ahhh! Wi, Wiz-san! Forget it if you are not feeling well, please don't push yourself!"

I hurried over to help Wiz up. Aqua who couldn't watch any longer turned her gaze in an absurd direction, she was getting more embarrassed.

"Wait, we'll take this quest."


	11. Wraiths

When we got to the guild, an interesting sight greeted our eyes.

"Huff… huff… I can't, can't take it! The magic power from this staff made from manatite, the colour and glister… huff… huff… power of explosion spell would increase by twelve percent!."

Megumin was humping a staff that looked different from her old one and grinding her face against it in a suggestive manner.

"Kazuma, look. I sent my armour to be reinforced with adamantite. How is it?"

Darkness showed me the armor she got back from the locl blacksmith happily.

"Honestly, it makes you look pretty buff."

"...buff?"

An awkward smile graced her face, unsure if I complimented or insulted her.

* * *

"So this is the mansion."

Being the abandoned villa of a family of nobles, it was r _eally_ big. Built entirely of bricks and painted white, it made for quite a sight.

You could probably fit a condo in one of its wings.

"Not bad! This place is great! This is where someone like me should be staying in!" shouted Aqua.

Because it was so big, plenty of wraiths dwelt within its walls. And the reward for the exorcism was a free stay before the stigma of the mansion been haunted had faded.

"But can we really exorcise the evil spirits? I heard new ones would keep coming no matter how much you clear them." said Darkness.

While I wasn't well versed in spritual evocation, finding the reason why the wraiths are attracted to this place and resolving the issue was the best strategy; though the longer we dragged on the quest, the longer we could stay in this villa.

"But it feels like this place had not been occupied for a very long time. Didn't the disturbance of the spirits only happen recently? Could it be, this mansion already had issues before the spirit problem hit the entire town…?" Megumin said uneasily.

"We have Aqua with us, right? We should be fine then."

Despite not acting like it, Aqua was still a Divine Spirit after all.

"Leave it to me! … Fufu, I can see it, I can see it! From the observation of my spiritual eyes, a maid who had a relationship with a memebr of the gentry and bore a child, who was kept here in this mansion! The noble died from illness and the maid went missing. The young girl left here contracted the same disease as her father, and died without ever seeing the faces of her parents! Her name was Alice Filante Margatroid. What she liked the most were her dolls and the stories of adventurers! But please don't worry, this spirit won't pull pranks on us. She will not harm us! Ara, she might be a child, but she's really quite mature for her age."

 _Seriously, is she claiming to have Pure Eyes now? Some kind of Spirit Perception?_

Darkness and Megumin were also looking at her with doubtful eyes, but they didn't question her.

* * *

Late at night.

"Ahhhh!? Wahhhhhh!"

"What is it!? Hey, Aqua, what happened! Are you okay!?"

I rushed to Aqua's room and rapped on the door.

No reply. Judging that something was amiss, I rammed the door open.

"Ka-Kazumaaaahhhh!"

Aqua was cradling an empty wine bottle and crying at the foot of her bed.

"Are you drunk?"

"Of course not! I didn't drink the wine! I was looking forward to enjoying the wine after my bath! But it was empty when I returned to my room!"

"I see, good night."

"Wait Kazuma! A spirit! This must be the work of an evil spirit! The ones that congregated here, or the illegitimate child that is bound to this mansion! It must be either of these two! I will make my rounds around the mansion and destroy all the spirits I see!"

"What happened, what's with that ruckus?"

"Is something wrong? It's getting late, so please behave yourself."

Darkness and Megumin had arrived, probably drawn in by Aqua's wailing.

Briefly noting how Darkness's nightgown accentuated her figure, I shrugged and returned to my room.

* * *

 _I fell towards The Door. Beyond it was the truth, a beautiful insanity. I knew that if I opened it, I would cease to be; sublimated. I wanted to stop, but it felt so_ right. _It opens and I fall through to see that_ ** _Akasha is the many!_** ** _But akasha is the one!_** ** _Akasha is the all!_** ** _But akasha is the none!_** ** _AKASHA IS THE TRUTH!_** ** _but akasha is a lie!_** ** _FOR AKASHA IS CONTRADICTION,_** ** _and it cannot be denied!_**

I shoot up from my bed, covered in cold sweat.

A figure looms over me and I automatically react, kicking it off me and tackling it off the bed.

Grappling with the assailant, who was moaning in pain, I looked down at their face.

Oh, it was just Megumin.

"Oooowwwwww... what the hell was that for, Kazuma?"

"That should be my question! Why are you watching me sleep; are you some kind of pervert like Darkness?"

"It's not like that!"

I got off her and sat down on the bed, leveling my best glare at her.

"What were you doing then?"

She got up and composed herself, a smug grin emerging on her face.

"I get it now. You're the apprentice of the Sage of the South!"

"..." _How does she know?_

"No mage has a mana capacity _that_ large, and only that Sage could manipulate space like you do! The others may not have realised, but tales of the abilities of the Sage of the South has been passed down the Crimson Demon clan for generations!"

"Assuming that you're correct, why are you telling me this?"

"I want you to teach me how to generate bigger and more powerful explosions! The legends of the Sage described him been able to crack a large island in two and destroy mountain ranges with an explosion! And he had infinite mana, so if you teach me, I could spam explosion again and again-" Megumin's eyes flared a bright red as her tirade went on.

"No."

The smug grin dimmed a little, but didn't leave Megumin's face.

"If you don't, I spread this to everyone I know! There must be a reason why you haven't revealed this to anyone, right?"

 _I didn't want to because that would reveal my abilities, and take away the advantage of surprise._

"Fine, though you can't just _learn_ the Second True Magic. Even if you're the most powerful magus in the world, and had the same knowledge I had, you still won't obtain it. But, alright, I'll help you with your explosion spell." _I thought that her head would be too full of explosions to think about blackmail._

 **Tap.**

The sound of something hard hitting the floor.

I turned and saw a small doll of a little girl in a dress. It would actually seem quite cute, if not fo the fact that it was the middle of the night and it was walking towards us.

 _Is it the ghost of Alice, or one of the other wraiths?_

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

Megumin ran and threw open the door, to reveal a veritable army of dolls waiting outside.

The worst thing about this situation was that I had an urge to take a leak.

 **"Αερο!** **Αερο!** **Αερο!** **Αερο!"**

Blades of wind cut the dolls to pieces, clearing a path outside my room.

Dolls began hurling themselves at me, and I reinforced my feet and slippers, kicking them and crushing them under my heel in sprays of porcelain.

"I just want to take a piss dammit!"

* * *

As you'd expect, we didn't get much sleep that night.

In a rare moment of dedication, Aqua had stayed up until dawn, exorcising all of the wraiths in the mansion.

"Hmm, I think we should report this to the guild. Although we didn't take on this quest in the guild, this is a job for adventurers anyway. We might get some unexpected bounty for exorcising all the spirits in this mansion. I also want to know why are there so many spirits turning up in town suddenly."

Everyone agreed with Darkness.

I told Darkness and Megumin to stay in the mansion to tidy up the place, and visited the guild with Aqua.

"Good morning. It's a bit early, but I have something to report, is it convenient?"

It was pretty early, but Luna was at a counter.

"No problem, may I ask what is it?"

Aqua and I explained to her how we took a request from the property agent and went to subjugate the wraiths in the mansion. Luna took a look at Aqua's adventurer's card and nodded.

"There are many who are seeking help due to the spread of the evil spirits. Since you have successfully exorcised them, we should give you some bounty rewards. Thank you for your hard work."

Aqua made a quiet victory pose.

"Sorry for taking your time, but we have found out why the evil spirits were wandering around; here is the report. There is a public cemetery in Axel town right? I don't know who played a prank, creating a giant holy barrier on that cemetery. The spirits in the cemetery had nowhere to go, so they had to go to town and haunt houses where no one was living in…"

...

"Excuse me for a moment."

I interrupted Luna and pulled Aqua to a corner of the guild.

"This was your doing right?"

"… Yes. Didn't Wiz ask me to periodically visit the cemetery to send the lost spirits to the other world? But going there every now and then is a real hassle right? So I thought if I chase all the spirits in the cemetery away and let them wander around, they will dissipate naturally over time"

"You do know that it might take months, or in some cases, years, for wraiths to dissipate right?"

"uumm..."

"We won't claim the reward from the guild, understood?"

"Yes."

Aqua nodded guiltily.

"After this, we will head over to the property estate and apologise, since what we did was tantamount to fraud."

"Yes. I am very sorry."

* * *

"I see… But if it is possible, could you please stay here from now on? This house is too big, and there are more evil spirits here than other places, so it has a bad reputation…"

"We are very sorry!" Aqua and I apologised and bowed

"Ahh, it's fine, it's fine! Well then, it's settled– all of you will stay here for now. To dispose of so many spirits proves that you are powerful adventurers. Providing support for adventurers are the obligations of the citizens in this town. And if you continue to live here, the bad reputation of the mansion would gradually fade away…"

In the face of that man's generous suggestion, Aqua and I bowed again.

"Ahh, enough, stop doing that!"

There were two conditions for living in this mansion.

"After finishing your adventures, or when eating dinner, you have to chat about your adventures with your companions."

The other condition for living here was to clean grave at the corner of the courtyard.

Which was the reason why I was squatting before a tombstone right now.

"Kazuma-san, morning! Are you cleaning the grave?"

I turned back and saw Wiz who looked much better than yesterday.

"Are you alright? Sorry about yesterday, that idiot gave you so much trouble."

"Don't worry, or rather, it's great it had been settled this way. She will definitely not be lonely now."

When I was about to invite her in, Wiz said she needed to tend to her shop and left after bidding me farewell.

I sat down beside the tombstone of Alice Filante Margatroid and looked up at the sky.

It's been a long couple of weeks.

I died, and was resurrected in another world. I have gazed upon the heart of eternity. I'm in a dysfunctional party with distorted companions. One's an explosion maniac, another a masochist, and the other a Divine Spirit.

I wonder what mum and dad would think of me; that their 'good-for-nothing' son is like this now. Perhaps they would berate me, questioning why I didn't become a merchant instead of risking my life as an adventurer.

I wonder what they would say at my funeral?

My heart clenched a little and a strange feeling welled up inside of me. Was it regret? Sadness?

I sighed.

There's no point in pondering these thoughts. It's better to focus on the battles ahead.


	12. Easy Mode

I reached into nothingness, my hand disappearing into a parallel world.

In order to find out just what the hell is going on with the demon lord and the Fourth Magician, I decided to accelerate my training of the Kaleidoscope.

The thud of a body falling to the ground told him that Megumin had tripped the outermost layer of bounded field around my workshop. It was inevitable that she would try to spy on my research after I told her that the Second Magic was forever beyond her reach unless she inherited it from me.

I felt my hand brush against something, and pulled, dragging what would hopefully be a loaf of _non-malevolent_ bread. After what happened last time, I wore enchanted gloves that could withstand a fortress shattering attack. You can never be too careful after all.

Throwing the object into a pre-drawn containment circle, I drew back and glanced at the thing.

"Howdy! The name's loaf."

" **Be gone, shadows. Thou of the unseeable."**

I starting chanting as soon as I heard the voice.

"I know all there is ta know about bread!"

It seemed innocuous enough, besides the fact that the loaf of bread had little arms and feet and a smiley face carved into its front. I was prepared to incinerate it in a moment's notice. Bread shouldn't talk dammit!

 **"Fade back into oblivion, if of darkness."**

"Bread is made of flour, yeast an' salt! But these days you can use anythin' you want! You can even make bread from trash! The most important thing is that it tastes like bread. Synthetic bread is cheap an' healthy! It belongs on da food honour roll! "

 _One incredible remark after another..._

"Finally, ya get to try da bread!"

"Er, I seem to have lost my appetite."

"If ya pity my existence, please eat me!"

 _This is so fucked up._

I wanted to burn this abomination to ashes, but I couldn't. The horrified fascination of looking at the living bread prance around had paralysed me.

Grabbing both sides of its 'head' with its stumpy little hands, the bread tugged and pulled until its upper half split in half, a torrent of what looked like blood splattering the ground.

"..." _The bread is bleeding!_

"Once I also was a loaf of freshly baked bread." The loaf moaned and fell to the ground, dragging itself towards me.

"Actually, I'm not a loaf of white bread..."

It pounded on the bounded field containing it, red liquid continuingly dripping from its wound.

"I was a loaf of mixed carrot juice b-bread... ma-de for children who di-didn't like carrrrrooooootttttssssssss..."

It slumped to the ground.

 **"Be returned to the immaterial!"**

A gout of flame swallowed the corpse of the bread.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha."

 _I'll never look at bread the same way ever again._

* * *

The sound of insane laughter emanated from the room that Kazuma had claimed as his workshop.

Aqua shook her head and ignored it as she continued to wait for the water to boil. Sages throughout the ages had one thing in common with each other; they walked on the boundary between insanity and wisdom. Other gods and goddesses have formed a theory that perhaps their Sorcery forces them to adopt elaborate coping mechanisms to suppress their memory of reaching the Root of Creation, but she never paid much attention to these.

At any rate, this was the second time that she actually heard Kazuma laugh or express some kind of joy since coming to this world, though it didn't seem to be very healthy in this case. In fact, she was planning to show off some of her party tricks to cheer him up, not that she cares about him or anything! Yes, he was her ticket back to heaven, so of course, she had to help him stay sane!

* * *

Later :

A thin line of blue gas shot from my outstretched hands, spreading as it rose until it became a gigantic globe in the sky.

Prana coated the superheated hydrogen, keeping it separate from the oxygen in the air and preventing combustion. A burst of fire shot from my other hand to the globe overhead. It sped up around the edges of the cone and slowed in the centre as the combustion was finessed.

After about three seconds, the detonation front had formed a complete hollow sphere, enclosing unburned gas. Then it flashed inwards in all directions, driving the pressure in the core of the remaining fuel higher and higher as the shockwave drove in-

For a tiny fraction of a second, the temperature and pressure in the core of the gas crossed a threshold.

" **Thermonuclear Explosion!"**

And a tiny star briefly sparked into life.

...

The trees around the clearing were completely leveled. Megumin stared up at the sky from her position on the ground. The shockwave from the spell had blown her to the ground.

I allowed myself to develop a smug grin. "Now, this is a proper explosion! "

"...teach me..."

"What's that? I can't hear you."

"Teach me teach me teach me teach me teach me teach me **teach** me **teach** me **teach** me **teach me TEACH ME TEACH METEACHMETEACHMETEACHMETEACHME!** "

"Alright, get off me first!"

* * *

Still Later:

"I'm okay with it too. But Dust, don't say you don't want to rejoin the party because it's too comfortable there alright?"

"Nah, you know me. I wouldn't ditch my bros just to chase girls."

"You exactly the sort of person to do that."

"Come on, Rin, don't you trust me after all those months in the same party?"

"Not in the slightest."

Satisfied, I walked back to the table where the rest of my own party was.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Aqua, Darkness and Megumin took small mouthfuls of the vegetable sticks in the cup in the center of the table as they stared at me.

"Nothing? I wasn't worried about Kazuma joining another party or anything." Aqua said as she looked at me with uneasy eyes.

"Oh, I'm joining another party for a day to see if there's any sword or archery skills I could learn."

I took a seat, aware of the girls' intensifying glares.

"Hmm. You looked so happy. You seemed to be having fun chatting, Kazuma. You seemed close to the members of the other parties huh?"

Megumin slammed her fist on the table and picked up a vegetable stick that was too scared to move and shoved it in her mouth.

"What is this feeling? Seeing Kazuma being on good terms with the other parties, the melancholic feeling is mixed with something good. Could this be the legendary NTR?"

The resident masochist flicked the edge of the cup with her finger and took a vegetable stick nimbly.

"Well, I need other methods of fighting in case my magic gets disabled."

I patted the new long sword I had just brought.

"In exchange, this adventurer called Dust is filling in for me, so don't be too hard on him, ok?

"Sure thing." x3

* * *

The man clad in heavy armour and wielding a broadsword introduced himself first.

"I am Taylor. I am proficient with a two-handed sword, and I am a crusader. I am sort of like the leader of this party. It is just temporary, but you are still part of our team. Please listen to the instructions of the leader alright?"

"Of course. Or rather, I was always the one issuing the orders. Following your instructions should be easier and refreshing. Please look after me."

Taylor seemed slightly shocked to hear what I said. perhaps he believed that I would be somewhat arrogant?

Next is a brown haired, twin-tailed girl wrapped in a heavy green cloak.

"I am Rin. As you can see, I am a wizard. I can use mid-level spells. Anyway, nice to meet you."

The irony wasn't lost on me. Perhaps in another world, a certain Tohsaka would sneeze?

A guy of a similar age as Rin smiled at me.

"I am Keith. Archer. I am confident with sniping. Anyway, pleased to meet you."

A lean man with a bow on his back smiled as he talked.

"I will be in everyone's care. I am Kazuma. My job is ... eh"

The three of them smiled at that.

"Yeah, we've all heard of how your card was rigged, 'arch-mage'; though your teacher must be somewhat of an ass to do that."

"Oh you have no idea..."

"Well, this is a simple goblin hunting job. In summary, we will be hunting the goblins at the foot of the mountain path. If we set off now, we can make it back late in the night."

* * *

Goblins.

A mainstream monster that was known to everyone in both this world and my own.

They moved in groups and could use weapons, attacking humans and livestock when they have the opportunity. Although they usually lived in the forest, these goblins were camping at the mountain path leading to the next town for some reason. Defeating one goblin would yield 20,000 Eris in bounty.

We leisurely walked in the grass plains leading to the mountain.

I don't know how strong goblins were, but according to Rin, they were much weaker than Egil trees.

Since the party already has a mage, I'll simply observe and learn any skills that are used and carry the luggage. It was actually pretty relaxing, especially when you know a spell that can shift the mass of an object.

We eventually arrived at the mountain; the area was brown and rocky with only a few sparse trees. For the goblins to move to a place that didn't provide much cover was baffling.

Taylor stopped and opened his map.

"The goblins were spotted at the top of this mountain path, just as it starts leading down the slope. There might be goblins living in the caves besides the path. Be on guard from this point onwards."

The whole team looked at each other and nodded silently.

There were no divergent paths on the mountain. The narrow trail snaked between the treacherous mountain face.

The path was wide enough for five or six people to walk side by side, but one side was a wall while the other side was a cliff.

We walked quietly along the path, and I suddenly noticed something.

"Something is coming from the mountain path ahead. It triggered my enemy detection. But it is just one."

'Detect enemy' had a response. But only one enemy registered.

 _Don't goblins moved in groups?_

The others turned around in surprise when they heard what I said.

"Kazuma, you have the skill to detect enemies? And it is just one? Then shouldn't be a goblin. There shouldn't be any strong enemies in this area… This is just a straight path, so we will be discovered even if we hide among the trees. Should we fight?" Taylor said.

"No, we wouldn't be discovered if we hide among the trees, I'll use the 'hide' skill to conceal everyone."

So we hid behind some trees at the edge of the path.

Soon enough, the monster I detected emerged.

A feline beast larger than a tiger or lion, covered in black fur. It had a pair of giant fangs protruding from its mouth, making it resemble a sabre-toothed tiger.

It sniffed the ground of the mountain path we walked on earlier.

When Rin saw that thing, she covered her mouth in panic.

The three who were touching me with their hands were exerting more strength due to increased tension.

" **Fulgoris."**

A bolt of crackling electricity tore a line of sorched earth into the ground, neatly cutting the beast in half.

"Huh, no magic resistance. Must be some sort of monstrous beast."

My party members looked at me with eyes of disbelief.

"...one spell." Rin muttered.

"So, eh, was it dangerous or something?"

"That is a rookie killer. It hangs around creatures like goblins and kobolds, weaker monsters that are easier for rookie adventurers to handle, and preys on the weak adventurers. This means the goblins are bait to lure the adventurer. And in order to keep the goblins from settling at one place, it will herd the goblins to change its hunting grounds."

"I see."

...

We hiked up the mountain path and came to the area marked by Taylor's map where the goblins were last sighted.

"Kazuma, how is it? Any reaction from 'detect enemy'?"

"If we follow the path down, there are a lot behind that corner. "

There were so many that I couldn't count clearly.

"It's definitely the goblins then."

"No problem no problem! How could we let Kazuma get all the spotlight! Alright, let's go!"

Keith shouted as he charged round the corner down the slope where the goblins were.

Taylor followed behind, and both of them yelled: "Wait! So many!"

When we heard their yell, Rin and I turned the corner too.

— There were alot of them.

Seeing that, Rin tensed her face and yelled.

"Didn't I tell you! I already told you! Didn't I say we should peek and see how many there are!"

Taylor took a step forward to protect Rin , who made a sobbing sound, and the archer Keith.

"Com on, we have to do this!"

Hearing Taylor's shout, Rin and Keith prepared to attack with a solemn face.

The Goblins saw the situation at hand and letting out strangely high pitched screams, charged at us.

"Chi chi chi! Chi-, chi-!"

We set up our formation on the slope.

"That hurts! Shit, I'm hit by an arrow! There's a goblin archer! Rin, cast wind defence spells quick!"

"Rin is still chanting, it's not fast enough! Everyone, try to dodge!"

 **"Ventus."**

A storm of razor wind burst forth from my palms, condensing into a concentrated pillar that proceeded to systematically suck in and shred the goblins.

"Ka, Kazuma! Good job!"

Motivated, Taylor charged at the remaining goblins and started hacking away with his broad sword.

"Snipe. Snipe. Snipe."

Keith covered his back as a bunch of goblins attempted to attack the crusader from behind.

...

After finishing off the goblins and on our way back.

"Hahaha, I have never seen spells that powerful before!"

"Wahahaha, not good, this is the first time I enjoyed hunting goblins this much! I thought we were doomed when I saw that large tribe of goblins!"

We talked about the battle just now as we returned to town along the mountain path.

They were still chatting about that fight with heightened emotions.

"Hey Kazuma, give me the luggage! You are the MVP today, so I will help you carry them!"

Seeing the three of them like this, I burst out in laughter. It felt as if all the accumulated stress of the past few weeks were wiped away for an instant.

"Ugh… that hurts…"

Taylor frowned as he applied pressure to his arm.

Taylor pulled an arrow off his arm.

"Want me to heal that, I know some basic healing magecraft." For all his faults _(and there were many)_ Zelretch was nothing if not thorough in his training.

Hearing me say that casually, Rin and Keith gulped for some reason.

"Kazuma, you know recovery magic?"

"Recovery magic, our team finally has someone who could use recovery magic…"

Taylor cut the two of them off. "Hey, stop it. Kazuma has somewhere to return to. He has a team that is full of top tier adventurers. Really. Now I understand why Kazuma is the leader of his party."

* * *

When we reached the doors of the adventurers guild, the sun had already set.

"We are hereeee! That felt like a big adventure today!"

We listened to Rin's declaration with a smile and pushed the door of the guild open—

"Boo… Boohoo… Hoo, boohoo… Ah, Kazumaaaaa…"

Seeing the wailing Aqua, I gently closed the door.

"Hey, I know how you feel from the bottom of my heart, but don't close the door!"

Opening the door that was closed, I saw the crying face of the guy who filled in for me, who's name was Dust or something.

Megumin was carried on Dust's back, and Aqua was carrying Darkness who had lost consciousness and was showing the white of her eyes as Aqua wailed.

Looking closely, there was a huge bite mark on Aqua's head; she was wet all over from saliva or something.

"… Eh, what happened. Wait, I don't want to know."

"Listen to me! Listen! These people are crazy! You know, I asked everyone what skills they had when we left town. So this kid told me she could use explosion and I praised her for her abilities. And she said 'let me show you my power', and suddenly used all her mana on an empty grass plain to cast her explosion spell…"

I plugged my ears with my hands.

"Damn you! Listen to me!"


	13. Dungeon

"Urgh!"

It isn't every day that you find an exact copy of yourself falling on top of you.

With the exact height, build, hair and face; there was no doubt that it was myself.

Except that I wasn't partially tied up and nude...

Rolling off me, the other Kazuma breathed deeply for a few seconds before starting to untie the ropes binding his legs together.

"Sorry about that, it was the only opportunity I had to escape _her._ "

Standing back up, I gave him an inquisitive look.

"Her?"

His face turned pale.

"Darkness...Remember to **never** try to cure her masochism; it will NOT end well!"

"What are you saying about me?"

As if on cue, the crusader's voice came from behind the door to my workshop.

"Sorrybyegottagonow-"

With a swipe of his own Jewelled Sword, the other me disappeared in a flash of prismatic light.

"It's nothing, Darkness." _How strange._

* * *

 **Later:**

 _-Hunt down the white wolf pack attacking the farm, 1,000,000 Eris._

 _-Mobile fortress Destroyer is approaching, recruiting scouts for reconnaissance regarding its route of advancement._

 _\- Snow fairy hunt_

Winter had come earlier than expected; with snow already falling at what should have been late autumn in this region. As a result, there were not many quests as most monsters hibernated during this season.

"What is this 'Destroyer' ?" I asked.

"The Destroyer is the Destroyer. The huge and fast mobile fortress."

"After rampaging around, it gained uncanny popularity among the kids."

Megumin and Darkness gave answers that only produced more questions, as I had expected.

"Whatever, though how strong are snow fairies? "

If they were anything like the ones I'm familiar with...

"Snow fairies are weak monsters. They can be found in places with lots of snow and will shatter when hit by a sword. People believe that defeating one will allow spring to arrive half a day earlier" Megumin replied.

"Snow fairies…" Darkness muttered, and the corners of her lips curled up into a smile of anticipation.

Then again, we have almost saved enough money to venture to the front lines, where I hope to gain more information on the Demon Lord and his subordinates.

"We'll take it."

...

"Look, you'll have to tone down your explosions to anti-unit strength, otherwise you'll never be able to go into a dungeon."

"..."

The grinding of Megumin's teeth grew louder.

I raised an eyebrow.

Reluctantly, she raised her staff.

"Explosion." she muttered softly, without any of her usual gusto.

The three snow fairies caught in the blast were vaporised.

Nodding, I went to retrieve Darkness from the crater she made herself. Getting used to super-Reinforcement wasn't easy; her armour had already shattered from crashing through the entire forest and the blade of her sword had snapped in half from the full force of her swings.

"Ehehe, do you enjoy having your arms around my waist Kazuma? Maybe you'll leave my legs stuck and then take off-"

"Darkness, shut up."

"So cold. As expected of Kazuma..."

As it turned out, snow fairies were as harmless as Megumin said they would be; and each one had a bounty of 100,000 Eris, which was somewhat disturbing.

As I struggled to pull Darkness out of the earth, Aqua frolicked around happily with an insect net.

"Aqua, get over here and help me instead of playing around!"

"How presumptuous of you! I want to catch the snow fairies and bottle them up. If I put them together with beverages in a box, I would be able to drink ice cold Neroid at any time! It would be a fridge! What do you think? Am I not a genius? "

 _Your intelligence stat says otherwise._

...

"So we're supposed to hunt snow fairies while you're going into that dungeon with Aqua?" Darkness asked.

"No, I would take the whole party if I could, but I don't think Megumin can control the strength of her explosions enough to not have the whole dungeon collasping over us, and your sword's broken."

"But I'll just use my body-"

"No."

Since Aqua spent all of her available points in learning party tricks, which served as a distraction in fights at best, I decided to take her grinding in Keele's Dungeon, which was populated by undead monsters. Hopefully she'll be able to learn martial arts after that.

"Hey, I'm an archpriest, not some kind of monk!" Aqua crossed her arms and huffed.

"If you want to effectively use your 'God Blows', then you'll just have to put up with learning this."

I leaned in. "Maybe's that's too difficult for a goddess..."

"Alright, let's do this!"

"By the way, if you want to explore dungeons, the team needs a thief alright? How about Chris? I haven't seen her around the guild lately." Megumin asked.

"Chris said she was really busy. She said the senpai who took care of her in the past was pushing all sorts of troublesome matters to her. To handle these problems, she didn't plan to come back. But she taught me 'detect trap' and 'disarm trap' already."

* * *

 _A long time ago, there was a mage named Keele who fell in love with a daughter of a nobleman. The wizard who devoted his whole life to magic and had no interest in_ love, _fell for the lady on first sight during a stroll through the streets. Of course, this love didn't bear fruit due to their differences in status. The mage who understood this, and worked even harder in his magic training and_ develed _deeper into his research in order to forget about his love._

 _As the years went by, he eventually became the strongest archmage in his country. He didn't hold back in bringing happiness to the country through his use of spells and was praised by all. And so, the wizard was invited into the castle, to a banquet that was held in his honour. The king wanted to reward the_ wizard, _and was willing to_ fulfill _one wish of his, with no restriction. The wizard said he had a wish that would never be fulfilled. What Keele wished for, no one knew._

 _It's only known that after this, the_ arch wizard _kidnapped the daughter of the noble clan, built a dungeon and refused to come out._

At least, that was what the official pamphlet said.

...

With the archer skill 'farsight' taught to me by Keith, I can see well wnough in the dark. Even if there were no light source and total darkness, I could still gauge the distance, where items are placed and their shapes. Of course as backup:

' _Begin structural grasping. Define Target: Air. Begin Analysis.'_

Instead of obtaining blueprints of what I was looking at, I just saw their exteriors in empty monochrome.

"Say Aqua, why do you always wear that hagoromo? Don't you get hot or cold? And what's up with that hair tie and the shakujo you can summon?"

"This hagoromo is a holy relic. It could prevent any abnormal status from being inflicted and has great durability. It is enchanted with all sorts of magic, a precious artifact! There is no other equipment better than this!"

"And the shakujo and hair tie?"

Aqua gave me a smug grin. "The shakujo amplifies any magic I cast, though nothing here is strong enough to warrant its use, and my hair tie represents my domain over water!" Her hand rose to touch it, only to lock up a little distance away from it.

Looking more closely, the three orbs attached to her hair tie is similar to the molecular structure of water.

...

After the stairs, there was a left and right route.

And I noticed something immediately after getting down the stairs.

"What is this?"

A human corpse in the advanced stages of decomposition.

Was it someone who attempted to challenge the dungeon alone, or a person who had been abandoned by his companions after dying?

Aqua came to the side of the corpse. " This corpse is about to become an undead monster. Kazuma, wait for a moment."

After saying that, Aqua started mumbling something like a prayer, and the corpse emitted a faint light.

Clack, clack clack!

Whether attracted by the sound of our voices or our scent, something approached us.

I readied my hand.

As a small, imp-like creature appeared from around the corner-

 **'Steal'**

-it collasped immediately, gurgling as it's still throbbing heart appeared in my hand.

"Ew, did you have to do that? "

Aqua looked on in disgust as I threw the heart away and wiped off my hand with a cloth.

"Just a test."

" I forgot that magicians used to be magi..."

"Hey, at least I'm not experimenting on humans or anything like that."

* * *

Aqua was different from her usual self.

"Lost souls wandering the cold dungeons, rest in peace. Turn Undead!"

Right now she was just like a goddess as she purified the undead with wide area spells.

Though it seems that I have underestimated the number of monsters that lurked in this dungeon.

Since we entered the dungeon, no less than sixty undead have attacked us.

Aqua sighed in relief as she finished her latest group-purification.

"Good work Aqua."

"Hmmph, you're finally seeing me in a new light? Anyway, where are the treasures? But this dungeon had been explored so many times, so I am not expecting much."

While the dungeon only had one floor, its was vast in length and breadth.

After ensuring the room ahead didn't have traps or the presence of an enemy, I entered cautiously.

"Tch, there's nothing good here."

"Wait, there's something in the corner."

Aqua and I went to the corner of the room together and found…

"Hey, that's a treasure chest! That's great Kazuma, we were right to explore the dungeon!"

I hastily restrained Aqua who was charging towards the treasure chest happily.

"My 'detect enemy' skill just got triggered. The chest is probably a mimic."

"Ah, so this is a mimic monster. "

Aqua picked up a stone and threw it at the mimic.

The moment it hit the ground, the walls and floor around started shaking, and the treasure chest opened up to reveal a mouth, lunging and swallowing the stone.

The walls and floor that appeared to be part of the dungeon were squirming. It seemed to be chewing the stone it just swallowed.

"How disgusting." the goddess muttered.

...

"Turn Undead!"

I had lost count of how many monsters were defeated long ago.

"There are too many undead here. If this is a normal situation, a party without an archpriest wouldn't be able to subjugate the dungeon right? "

Aqua didn't seem tired at all. but even she wouldn't be able to keep it up forever, so maybe it was time to retreat. After dispatching so many enemies, she should have more than enough skill points.

"You're right. We didn't find any treasure, but I am satisfied after purifying so many undead- Wait, the scent of undead is still lingering here."

We had reached the end of the dungeon, but Aqua was still sniffing the air like a dog at the dead end.

My detection skills weren't triggered, but perhaps it wasn't an enemy?

Opening up my sixth sense, I looked at the wall, and saw the bounded field behind it. And it was quite nasty. A weapon fired upon it would rebound off or be distorted into nullifying space and implode.

"This may take some ti-"

" **Sacred spell break!** " It was crushed by Aqua in an instant.

In reaction, part of the wall suddenly turned sideways, opening a gap.

A low and vague sound came from the other side.

"Is there a priest?"

* * *

There was a simple bed, cabinet, a table and a chair in the room.

The person was sitting on the chair beside the bed.

A lit oil lamp provided light.

"Greetings adventurers."

He was wearing a long cloak that concealed his body from view, with the exception of his face. A skull covered in dried skin.

"I am Keele, creator of this dunge-"

The lich stiffened and turned towards me, staring at the Jewelled Sword strapped to my belt. "So, you are the one who inherited the Kaleidoscope?

One explanation later:

"In order to get on the good side of the king, the daughter was offered to the king as a concubine. But she wasn't loved, and didn't have a good relationship with the queen and the other concubines, and had a hard time. And you said something like 'since you don't want her, give her to me' right?"

After hearing this, the bones in Keele's throat area rattled, as if he was laughing.

"That's the gist of it. After I proposed to the lady I kidnapped, she accepted me. After that, I brought her along in an elopement of love while fighting the army of the kingdom… Ah, those were happy times. Oh, by the way, the one on the bed is her. How does she look, the curve of her collar bone is beautiful right?"

I looked in the direction Keele pointed at and found a skeleton placed on the small bed.

"So what brings you here, Magician?"

"I made a deal with the Goddess over here, and now I'm obligated to slay the current Demon Lord."

"Ah, that should be nothing then, even for an apprentice such as yourself."

"Well, Aqua neglected to inform me about the Fourth Magician, whose apparently allied with said Demon Lord. Anyway, how did you know about True Magic?"

The lich chuckled. "Well, the man who taught me magecraft was a Magician himself."

"...and what was his name?"

"Einzbern.".


	14. Embodiment of Winter

"Ah, it finally appeared!"

Megumin grinned in anticipation as the air grew even colder; a figure rose from the snow.

Covered from head to toe in the bone-white armour of a samurai. A katana of ice that visibly chilled the air.

Wearing the imagination of humans as a shell, the **Embodiment of Winter** , Jack Frost, had arrived.

* * *

 **Back in the dungeon:**

I stared blankly at Keele for an indeterminate amount of time.

"..."

 _Right._ _The concept of time does not exist outside the boundaries of the material universe. The domain in which the 3rd Magic acts, consequently, is the timeless realm between life and oblivion, where souls from both the past and future gather from countless realities. Theoretically, this permits a more limited traversal of world-lines than the 2nd Magic. From what I remember, the Third Magic was developed some two millennia ago by the ancestors of House Einzbern, but roughly 1000 years prior to the fifth Heaven's Feel Ritual, its core mystery was removed from the family's control._

 _"_ I see, his name was just Einzbern?"

"That was all he referred to himself as, yes."

"Was he-"

 **Boom.**

Aqua and I swayed as the earth shook beneath our feet.

There could only be one reason for an explosion of this size.

"Sorry, we'll come back later." I grabbed Aqua's arm.

"Wait! I still need to-

And we reappeared where we left Darkness and Megumin.

-purify him."

A scorched crater had appeared in the centre of the snow-covered clearing, burnt meters into the ground by sheer thermal energy. The soil in the crater has been superheated and vitrified. But in the middle were large chunks of unmelted ice.

"Kazuma! We did it!"

Darkness ran over, carrying a barely conscious Megumin on her back.

"We defeated the fairy of winter! That's 200 million in a few minutes! I destroyed its sword, then Megumin used a Thermo-something Explosion to finish it off!"

 _Oh god, she just raised a flag._

As I expected, the ice in the crater began to reform with sharp cracks. The temperature somehow began to drop even further, creating gusts of wind.

"Aqua, what are we dealing with here?"

"J-Jack Frost, the fairy of winter. But I've never seen a fairy do something like this... Maybe when the form granted to it by the beliefs of man is destroyed, it reverts?"

The crater twisted. Impossibly, the exposed earth and ice shifted into _ice_. Thermodynamics meant nothing to a being that was not restrained to what humans had deemed the 'laws of physics'. A snowy white mist expelled from the gathering ice, sapping away any heat left. The ice in the centre gathered itself into a mess of fractuals and edges, smoothly climbing out of the crater. A series of complex sounds rang out. They did not fit be called rings, howls, bangs, or any sort of classification that humans would find for it.

Because it was beyond human understanding.

 _A Root-damned elemental._

"Aqua, Darkness. Run."

I drew the Jewelled Sword as it turned towards me.

A consecutive series of magic circles appeared before my other hand.

I punched and the circles mashed into each other in a chain reaction. As the last magic circle was pressed, a violent burst of pressurised air struck the elemental. While the innate Mystery of Jack Frost would nullify almost all thaumatology, it could not prevent mundane attacks.

Such as a metric ton of kinetic force striking it at 180 kilometres an hour, which coincidentally had no mana in it.

The creature slammed forward as if by a giant fist. The fairy of winter was pushed to the base of the mountain, carving a trench in the ground.

No visible damage whatsoever.

Even as it slowed to a stop, I swiped the Jewelled Sword down, and a wave of burning heat seared through the area, so intense that the air itself burst into flame – only to be instantly extinguished by an exertion of the elemental's will; the will of the World.

I dashed to the right as the world around me roiled over, the entire landscape rising to impale and crush me. Spears and blades of ice erupted from the snow; one hit would mean losing a limb at best, even with the defensive enhancements layered over my clothes. I reinforced my body and nerves, managing to evade one, two strikes, and the third, a blade with an edge no wider than a molecule, carved a gash into my right cheek.

 _Marble Phantasm._

The snow falling from above formed into needles, shooting at me with speeds comparable to that of a bullet. There should be no way to dodge this.

So I temporarily jumped to an alternate reality and reappeared some distance behind the fairy of winter, shattering a part of its body with a bolt of piercing light.

Before it could retaliate, I had shifted to a different location, continuously blasting it with beams of prana.

Rinse and Repeat.

Attacks of this level wouldn't kill Jack Frost outright, but they cost it power and cost me nothing. This would be a war of attrition.

* * *

 **IF THE MAGE SOUGHT TO HIDE, THEN IT WOULD SIMPLY HAVE TO LEAVE HIM NOWHERE SAFE.**

 **IT CAST ITS WILL INTO THE SKY,** **AND MADE IT ROAR.**

* * *

The clouds gathered, the wind howled, the natural weather patterns of the world were distorted beyond recognition. The skies for miles around went black as they were filled in the space of seconds by a blizzard that made a hurricane appear as gentle as a summer breeze in comparison.

The storm descended, and I was lifted into the air. The winds threatened to shred my body simply by blowing, and that was to say nothing of the vast quantities of ice and snow being hurled against the defensive shields I managed to cast like a hail of hypersonic arrows. I was hurled about like a dust mote, buffeted, bruised...

A cloud of ice tendrils flew towards me, untouched by the blizzard, wrapping around me and throwing me to the ground. Hard. Despite my defensive enchantments and self-reinforcement, I felt the impact rattle my teeth, the sheer force of it blasting a crater into the already shattered earth beneath me. A rib snapped; I ignored it. It isn't fatal.

I swung the jewelled Sword in a vertical motion. Space wavered, stretched, and split, forming the opening to another world along the path of the blade's swing.

A surge of plasma poured out, vaporising all the ice and snow in one direction.

And suddenly Jack Frost was directly in front of me, its vast bulk having covered the space in between us in the space of a second. I rolled away, just as a vacuum formed in my previous position.

With an effort of will, I stepped into another world even as ice shredded the space I had once occupied.

Stepping onto the soil of an alien Earth, I barely took time to breathe the air, but long enough to gather the prana of it in the palm of my hand. With another minor effort of will, I stepped back into my world-

And five sharp, white spears slammed into my ankles and shoulders, the last impaling me in the gut.

I spat out blood, crimson staining the purity of the snow.

 _Does nothing kill you?_ It was vexing to think that because for some reason _other_ thoughts were not quite getting through the haze of agony.

It would be simple to just give up then and there. But I can't.

If the elemental decides to pursue the rest of the party... Axel Town wouldn't survive. If I die, I'm taking this thing down with me.

The spears twisted, and I fought the urge to scream.

Body screaming, I forced myself to sit up, pointing the Jewelled Sword at the fairy of winter.

"I guess I'm a sore loser after all."

The Jewelled Sword lit up once more, to draw in mana from a hundred other worlds, a thousand, a million. The elemental had anticipated this, and one of its 'limbs' morphed into a sheet of ice as thick as a building. The white light slammed into the shield, yet the sheer weight of its Mystery prevented it from breaking.

 _More. I need more_. More mana was drawn into the sword. _More. More._ A million became tens of millions, hundreds of millions, _billions_ , an endless line of worlds, more power than a magus could have dreamed of wielding in a thousand lifetimes. The sword rapidly approached the maximum units of mana it could channel.

Slowly... so painfully slowly...

Cracks began to appear in the ice.

 **Squelch!**

A stake of ice was driven through my heart from behind.

The flow of mana spluttered.

I swallowed the blood filling my mouth and activated my circuits. The resulting pain helped me focus.

I used my own magic circuits to draw in the mana gathered from other worlds. Under normal circumstances it would never enter my body in such a way; the only energy that actually came from me in operating the Kaleidoscope was the tiny spark needed to open the path to the alternate worlds.

Pain exploded across every nerve in my body as I forced my entire self and will into using this single attack. Muscles twisted and frayed, blood vessels writhed and tore apart, and white agony smashed into my brain, but still I held on, for the single vital moment. In an instant, my circuits were on the verge of going critical. The load on them rampaged and turned bloody. The overdose of magical energy slowed time to a crawl.

Crack.

Nerves were scorched with imaginary flame. The circuits spun. There was a very real possibility that they would burn away completely. My dying body trembled in from the bottomless sensation of being incinerated in a phantom inferno.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

The ice was breaking apart. A creeping darkness started to overtake my vision.

Stopped heart. Withering nerves.

Then everything simply stopped.

* * *

The fairy of winter's defences were blown apart, its physical shell annihilated in a single instant. The beam of mana travelled on, blasting through mountains and carving an artificial valley in its wake. The arm holding the sword dropped.


	15. Resurrection

"...He's been holding back all this time?"

A calamity had descended upon the area at the foot of where a mountain once was.

One part was iced over, as if a forest of spikes and razor edges had suddenly sprouted out of the ground, while the other part was a mess of gaping scorched craters of glass and ash. The newly-carved valley lied in the centre of it all, formed from splitting mountains. And in the centre, red.

"H-Hey, Kazuma!"

A mad scrambling.

"Kazuma!"

Aqua's face was uncharacteristically grim as she watched Megumin and Darkness crouch beside the sorcerer's corpse. An elemental is a force of nature, something that cannot be stopped, yet this man somehow did it at the cost of his life.

"Wake up...wake up! This isn't funny!" Megumin was shaking the body frantically as if trying to deny his death through her actions. Aqua could see bits of intestine poke out of the gaping wound in his gut. It was jarring to see someone who they had unconsciously deemed invincible lying shattered on the ground. Something uncomfortable welled up in the goddess's chest as she blinked to clear her eyes.

Darkness's fists tightened, the metal of her gauntlets creaking. She turned her head away.

"A-aqua, please resurrect him." the crusader said in a small voice.

A single person can only receive one resurrection per lifetime. That rule was ironclad.

"I c-" Aqua took a shuddering breath. It was a good thing she was never one for following the rules anyway. In a flash of light, her shakujo appeared in her right hand while her left rose to touch her hair tie-

* * *

 _The man's soul was fraying apart, yet he did not stop folding the space around it. Even with her assistance, it would cost him everything he had and some more. From the start, the Second Magician knew that he would not come out of this alive._

* * *

 _-_ and fell. Whatever that was, it was a concern for later. Pointing her shakujo down at Kazuma's body, Aqua spoke a single word that wasn't a word but a pure and refined concept, perfect in its execution. It was stated as though it were a fact, an immutable law of the universe.

 _ **Live**_

* * *

Unlike last time, he was surrounded by black instead of white.

"Satou Kazuma… your time in the mortal world is up. I am the goddess who will guide your way, Eris."

He shot up and examined his body. No injuries. Lack of equipment, though he still had his clothes on. Some panic rose up, and was squashed out as quickly as it appeared. He faced Eris.

 _'Chris!?'_

Same silver hair, but longer. Pale skin. Eyes are the same shade of blue. Facial features almost identical, but a little softer and more refined.

But the resemblance was unmistakable.

The goddess who called herself Eris looked at Kazuma with sad eyes as he stood dumbfounded for an instant.

"Eh, right. Did I defeat Jack Frost?"

"It's fine, you destroyed its physical form. It would probably take a few years for it to reconstitute itself. "

Hearing that, he sighed in relief.

Mistaking it for a sigh of regret, Eris looked at him sorrowfully.

"Satou Kazuma. You came from peaceful Japan and encountered something like this… the least I could do is let you go to a place you can live happily." _'She seems to be a proper goddess, unlike that Aqua._

And she reached her right hand out-

"Wait, sorry but that's not going to happen. Aqua will resurrect me."

"Sorry, but a person is only allowed one resurrection per lifetime. I don't like it as well, but it's the rules." Eris shrugged helplessly.

Kazuma took a deep breath, held the coordinates within his mind and prismatic light blazed into existence around him.

"Sorry Eris, but I can't die yet. I still have questions that need answering and things to do. I mean, how is my party going to survive?"

The goddess's eyes widened. "Stop, you can't do that! The link between your body and soul has been severed, so you'll become a wraith when you return!"

Kazuma shrugged. "There are methods of getting around that." The transfer was taking longer than expected.

Eris frowned. "I've seen your kind, time and time again. Every fleeing man must be caught. Every secret must be unearthed."

"I guess that's humanity-"

 _ **Live**_

The darkness began to crack, light invading the void they were in. The floor began to shake.

" **Get back here, Kazuma! If a goddess named Eris is trying to stop you, tell her to screw the rules! If she doesn't let you go, I'm smashing my way in and dragging you out! If she continues to prattle, just steal the pads in her bra and—** "

Eris moaned and covered her face in embarrassment. "I get it I get it! An exception! This time will be an exception! I will open the gate now okay!"

She snapped her fingers and a door appeared before Kazuma.

"Really, Aqua-senpai is still as unreasonable as ever..."

Her eyes narrowed and she turnëd to Kazuma. "Oh, and Kazuma-san. Has she been acting strangely recently?"

"No more than her usual self, why?"

"...its nothing for you to worry about."

As he pushed open the door-

"You know Chris, flat-chested girls can be held closer to the heart."

"Y-You!"

Groaning, Eris rubbed her blushing face. _That was so damn cheesy! Just, urgh! But it is worrying that Aqua has mustered enough power to at least partially break in here... I'll have to re-examine the seal when I have the time and hope that the devils uphold their end of the truce as well._

* * *

"…Zuma….! Kazuma, get up! Kazuma!"

The sound of Megumin sobbing.

His right hand feels warm.

Opened his eyes, he could see Darkness down on one knee by his side, holding his right hand with both of her hands. Her eyes seemed to be closed in prayer.

Megumin was sobbing into his chest.

A few metres away stood Aqua, who looked at Kazuma with a complicated expression.

"… Ah, took you long enough. "

Darkness's voice cracked at the end.

Without a word, they hugged him.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The past:

Far too many hands, too many eyes, too many mouths.  
Zelretch grimaced.  
"Too many limbs girl, compress your form more."  
Hundreds of eyes blinked in unison. Vocal chords adjusted themselves.  
"Wuhajvkfighgf- wwr- Will you keep the-"  
"Association off your back? Of course. We Sorcerors need to look out for each other after all, my dear Fourth. Though your precedessor didn't have so many lingering issues..."

* * *

 **AN:** Sorry if this chapter is too short and took way too long to update. Semester finals came up, and I had a bout of writer's block. As compensation, the next chapter will be extra long.


	16. Interlude: Raid Boss

_At the Western Desert, players from the other guilds ran around the map in chaos. The area Boss Scarlet Knight and his cavalry continued to chase and kill the remaining stragglers. Whoever they pursued, died. After all, the enemies had horses._

 _At this moment, Guild E_ _xsanguinated_ _Peach Invasion had already gathered together and climbed up a sand dune. The troops arranged themselves into the necessary formations._

 _The Scarlet Knight's aggro had already gone into disorder. It was now taking the initiative to attack instead of retaliating against enemy attacks. The Scarlet Knight saw more targets in its line of sight and charged towards them without hesitation._

 _A bead of sweat dripped down Kazuma's face as adjusted his character, TrashieScumbag's position. They had only one chance at this before the other guilds gather themselves together and try to steal the Boss from them._

 _The yellow sand billowed under the_ _hooves of the horses. The cavalry moved like the wind towards_ _E_ _xsanguinated_ _Peach Invasion_ _'s players._

 _"Mages!" TrashieScumbag ordered in the guild chat. All of the Mages lifted their staffs into the air. The gems on their staffs glinted in the sunlight._

 _"Ice Wall!"_

 _In an instant, dozens of ice walls shot out of the ground like a mountain range, blocking the Scarlet Knight's and his cavalry's assault._

 _Bang!_

 _An enormous sound reverberated into the air. The Scarlet Knight and his cavalry didn't waiver in front of the ice walls and continued their charge._

 _Bang bang bang bang!_

 _Ice walls shattered one after the other._

 _"Thieves, advance!" TrashieScumbag gave another order. The gathered thieves began to hide within the cracks between the ice walls._

 _The Scarlet Knight and its cavalry pressed forward, but after crashing into several ice walls, their momentum finally slowed. The thief team closed in. They didn't ask for any single target or look for any specific route. They simply placed a trap wherever there was free space, then immediately retreating._

 _Moments later, the sounds of ice walls breaking slowed. The Boss's charge was momentarily halted. Numerous ice walls still stood tall. The Scarlet Knight brandished its sword and shattered the walls with large swings._

 _At this moment, the mage team fell back. The knights moved forward to be the defensive line._

 _"Shields up!" The knights in front lifted their shields and hid behind them._

 _"Clerics, get ready!" When TrashieScumbag gave his second order, the Scarlet Knight and its cavalry arrived. Except this time, the short distance between them wasn't enough for a full charge. The Scarlet Knight and his cavalry strode over and raised their swords._

 _The sounds of metal colliding with metal repeatedly rang._ _The health of the tanks each fell like a waterfall with every attack. In this type of situation, even if there were Clerics healing, the knights were already worried that they wouldn't be able to properly block the next onslaught of attacks._

 _"Shinobi! Underground Tunnelling Technique, Body Bind Technique!"_

 _While the Scarlet Knight had been breaking through the ice walls, the Shinobi had hidden under the sand. Now, they popped out of the sand into the air and threw lengths of rope towards the knights on horseback._

 _They didn't have any targets in mind and simply aimed at the most convenient target. There might be slip ups or repeats, but those weren't important. It was more important they took the opportunity in front of them. A_ _single person's mistake could be covered by someone else._

 _The majority of the enemies hit by the Tunnel Bind combo were dismounted. Some of them were hit but didn't fall._ _This wasn't strange. After all, the Scarlet Knight was an Area Boss. All of its underlings were elite monsters and had strong resistance towards many attacks. If the player didn't aim correctly, the intended effect might not occur._

 _"Lancers, Circle Swing!"_

 _At this moment, another wave of attacks flew out. The Lancer squadron pincered from the left and right. After the Ninjas used the Tunnel Bind combo, the Lancers immediately stabbed at the enemies who hadn't fallen off their horses._

 _Some of their attacks might miss or might be late, but in the end, the remaining mounted knights were thrown off._

 _"Witches, Level 50 and up use Doll Shururu, under Level 50 use Lava Flask, Ice Rain!"_

 _"Archers, Incendiary Arrows!"_

 _"Summoners, surround them!"_

 _"Berserkers…"_

 _"Monks…"_

 _Kazuma gave out order after order. UnrivalledSuperHottie had already set the Guild chat up so that besides him, no one else could speak, so no one would be distracted by any messages other than the orders._

 _Witches flew through the air, bombarding the cavalry._

 _The Archers stood at the backlines and shot Incendiary Arrows into the air. They flew over everyone's heads and rained upon the enemies, inflicting the Burn status._

 _The summoned creatures advanced and filled up what little space was left._

 _Meanwhile, the DPS-focused classes also attacked. In an instant, the Scarlet Knight and his cavalry were submerged in unending waves of skills. In this area, the only thing that could be seen were struggling shadows. Nothing else could be seen clearly._

* * *

 _"Don't squeeze. Let me go through. I still haven't used my skill!"_

 _"You Berserker, you've already used your skill, right? If you're done, move aside!"_

 _'Who's Goblin is this? Can't you let me go through? Don't make me kill it!"_

 _"Ah, who hit my butt?"_

* * *

 _Around seventy players were attacking. How long would it take to kill the Boss? Very few knew the answer to this question. Coordination, skill, equipment, levels, classes… there were simply too many factors involved._

 _However, the speed at which the Scarlet Knight and its cavalry were being destroyed by_ _E_ _xsanguinated_ _Peach Invasion_ _was quite high. The Scarlet Knight's underlings fell one after the other until only the Boss itself remained._

 _While it was stronger than its subordinates, but its current situation was even worse than before._

 _Before, against the initial offensive, its knights had taken a defensive formation around it. Eighteen knights formed a circle with the Boss in the_ centre _; they even blocked the aerial attacks from above._

 _But now, all of its underlings had fallen. Surrounding its, a mob of summoned creatures now took their places._

 _"Okay, besides team one, everyone stop attacking!" Kazuma ordered._

 _The poor summons had previously been there in order to act as meat shields against the enemy attacks. If everyone didn't stop, these creatures would quickly be killed off by the players themselves._

 _Everyone else apart from team one stopped attacking and withdrew. When they looked back, they couldn't even see the Boss anymore; the summoned creatures had completely enveloped the Scarlet Knight. The light shining from its sword could still be seen though. Every time the Scarlet Knight slashed, several summoned creatures let out shrill shrieks and died._

 _When a summoned creature died, the creature could be summoned again, but the skill had a cooldown. The stronger the creature, the longer the cooldown and the greater the mana cost. This is why Summoners frequently ran out of mana._

 _"Team one, advance. Team two, get ready. Team three, rest!" Kazuma had split the Summoners into three teams and controlled their pacing._

 _"Archers, continue firing! Don't stop!" Team One also had Archers. Even though the summoned creatures were in their way, it didn't affect them._

 _"Elementalists, keep firing too!"_

 _The Scarlet Knight's health was falling rapidly. All of its attacks just ended up hitting the summoned creatures. Even though it sometimes used a powerful AoE attack called Whirlwind Slash to clear them away, it was facing a team of Summoners. Each summoner could summon several creatures. With three teams rotating, the Boss could hack at the creatures all it wanted, but it would never kill them all. Kazuma had already researched the Scarlet Knight's patterns before the raid. Killing it off like this wouldn't be a problem, even when the Knight entered its Enraged mode at 10% health. The Boss's fury wouldn't change the situation._

 _The only variable was the other guilds. However, their elites were currently all the way at Almarshan, led on a wild goose chase by his friend UnrivalledSuperHottie._

 _The people from before were scattered around the desert, observing from a distance. They didn't even dare to come close. What could they do?_

 _If back-up arrived, it would already be too late for them to do anything._

 _The traps Kazuma had the Thieves set up ended up being unnecessary._

 _The Scarlet Knight struggled._

 _The Scarlet Knight went berserk._

 _The Scarlet Knight died._

 _Kazuma let out a sigh of relief and released the restrictions on the guild chat._

 _Pwnage!_ _Pwnage!_ _Pwnage!_ _Pwnage!_ _Pwnage!_ _Boss got its ass rekted!_ _Boss got its ass rekted! TS too pro! Good One TS! Other Guilds dun goofed!PEACHES FOR THE WIN!Someone forgot to heal me!Did you take my s*** when I died?_

 _He quickly switched off the chat window._

 _Leaning back in his chair, Kazuma smiled to himself. This rush, this feeling of victory and_ _camaraderie, this is why he played this game! He had managed to get a bunch people who haven't seen each other's faces to coordinate and accomplish what before required a hundred people to accomplish; with minimal casualties to boot._

 _Yawning, Kazuma checked the clock. Three in the morning. Logging out, then switching off his computer, he carefully manoeuvred himself onto his bed. Causing another argument was definitely something he wanted to avoid._

 _._

 _._

 _._

* * *

 **AN:** Sorry if this interlude seemingly came out of nowhere, but this was originally meant to be a flashback at the beginning of the next chapter. It was just something about Kazuma's days as a gamer, around 300 words. Then it grew and grew and grew, so I decided to make it a separate chapter. I guess this is also an experiment in writing large scale battles scenes.


	17. Recovery

**AN: _Let us tell the story of a certain man. The tale of a man who, more than anyone else, believed in his updates, and by them was driven into despair._**

 **Jokes aside, bloody hell this chapter took way too long to come out. My sincerest apologies to the people who had to wait for months for an update. Real life had been pretty hectic, with uni and switching different part-time jobs ( _A somewhat legitimate excuse_ ). That basically left my muse on the edge of death. The only upside to the delay is that I was able to mostly plan out the majority of the rest of the story as well as let some ideas ferment and mature into something decent. **

**And shutting up now.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

"You know, a lot of maps would have to be redrawn. Maybe they'll even name that canyon after you." Darkness mused as she examined the devastated landscape.

That drew a few chuckles and the previously gloomy atmosphere lightened a little.

"Is your body okay? Does it feels weird anywhere?" When he heard Megumin say that, Kazuma patted himself down.

"It seems fine-"

"Your circuits were fried to a crisp. Luckily I managed to restore them, but it would be wise to abstain from using magecraft for the next five days."

 _No demands for praises? I suppose this is the strange behaviour Eris was talking about. What happened while I was dead?_

Instead of wearing her haughty 'praise me' expression, Aqua wore a scowl that wasn't quite a scowl. It was the expression of a person who struggled to recall something that hovered just beyond the reach of their mind right when they needed it the most.

"Well, time to visit Keele. It would be bad if his cave collapsed from these quakes."

As it turns out, the entrance to the dungeon _had_ collapsed. Even with thaumatology, it was going to take a while to clear it out.

* * *

The walk back to the guild was unusually quiet. Aside from the crunching of snow and the howling wind, there was no other sound.

Megumin and Darkness seemed perturbed, and actively avoided his gaze. But the most out of character was Aqua, with her glassy-eyed look.

No one spoke until the large oaken doors of the guild materialised out of the snow.

''Kazuma...''

''Yes Megumin?''

''There was this thing with Jack Frost we forgot to tell you.''

The Sorcerer frowned at the Archmage.

Megumin took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes, putting on her best expression of a kicked puppy.

''If you throw away your weapons and kneel before it, the fairy would have simply left.''

Kazuma froze, and his face carefully went blank.

 _Deep breath. Think of the 200 million Eris waiting for you. Killing them isn't worth it._

 _Yeah, a day in that clown dimension should suffice as punishment._

 _No, calm down! Consider this rationally. The potential costs outweigh the benefits. What if Megumin becomes even more obsessed with explosions? Would it be one nuke a day instead of an explosion? What if Darkness became a sadist? Remember that tied up, naked version of us? And who knows what might happen to Aqua._

Another deep breath.

He patted Megumin on the head as he smiled. To her, that was much more intimidating than any scowl.

''While I wish I would have been informed of this beforehand, the blame can also be laid partially on myself. I got overconfident and recklessly rushed to battle an enemy I had no information on. Now, please cover your ears.''

Megumin quickly clamped both hands on her ears, Darkness and Aqua mirroring her.

 **''[EXPLETITIVES REDACTED FOR BENEFIT OF READERS]!''**

"..."x2

"I didn't know if that's even anatomically possible."

* * *

Usually, the guild would be all but empty due to the relative sparsity of quests in winter.

When they entered, it was filled to maximum capacity. Mountains exploding and earthquakes tend to garner some curiosity after all.

"Yep, I told you it's _that_ party. Hand over the money!"

"How would you know? They haven't even spoken yet-"

"Now now, don't try to worm your way out our bet. Look at what happened to their leader's shirt and cloak and say they're not responsible."

"They could just have taken that 'wolf pack subjugation' quest..."

 _Even the receptionists are betting!_

Alone, the stoic Luna stood as the lone island of sanity against the chaotic sea of humanity. He supposed that she must be used to this after they bought back minced toad meat on that one quest.

The quest was turned in and his adventurer card scanned.

"Bullshit! I thought it would have been another Demon General for sure..."

"That's very unlucky my friend. I feel for you. 30000 Eris just gone like that."

"Fuck you and your luck, Dust!"

"That ain't luck my friend. After losing a general so quickly, the Demon King wouldn't attack so rashly. The only thing deadly enough around at this time would be the Winter Shogun."

"Wow... if you put all that effort into quests, we could have levelled up enough to take quests in the capital."

"Now now Yunyun, don't be like that to your 'archrival'. How about you bet on us next time, and we'll split the winnings?"

"Chris, your face is all flushed. Just how much did you drink? And why are you glaring at Kazuma? Wait, I see..."

"Darkness, it's not like that damn it!"

Paying no heed to the noise, Kazuma examined change on his card.

Class: **Neophyte**

 _Better than 'shitty apprentice' at least._

* * *

The next morning:

His body trembled as he grappled with his opponent. It was a most cunning and insidious foe, for it knew exactly what his weaknesses are and ruthlessly capitalised on them.

 _Come on, it's only nine. That's way too early_ ~ _Let's just sleep for a few more hours._

 _Shut up! You still have to repair your cloak you know._

Grabbing the blanket, Kazuma ripped it off himself. The full force of the cold morning air hit him and made him shiver.

 _Bastard!_ The remains of his NEET instincts raged at him.

Groaning, he pulled himself out of bed, only to have a black blur jump into his lap.

The black thing stared up at him inquisitively, wings fluttering- wait, wings?

 _Of course, it's a winged cat._

It coughed, and a jet of flame escaped from its mouth.

 _That breathes fire._

 _..._

Surprisingly, everyone else was out in town. A note from Megumin had explained that the winged, fire-breathing cat named Chomusuke was her familiar. It had been temporarily taken care of by her friend Yunyun _(Probably another Crimson Mage, judging by the name)_ , for the past month.

He started out at the snow blanketing everything outside the manor and shivered, wishing for the warmth of a kotatsu.

 _Perhaps I can summon, then reverse engineer one. Who would I sell the patents to though?_

 _..._

A paw tugged at the right leg of his trousers. Kazuma ignored it.

 _If the balance sheet is to balance, every transaction and adjustment must also balance; that is, their effects on the two sides of the statement must be equal. To reinforce the earlier discussion on transaction analysis, consider the following: If a resource (asset) is increased, (a) a source (liability or equity) must be increased by the same amount; or (b)_ _another resource decreased by the same amount_ ; or _(c) there must be some mixture of source increases and other resource decreases that equals the original resource's-_

"Meow."

"Chomusuke, get out of my face."

The cat continued to intentionally block the view of the book.

Sighing, he grabbed the winged feline and put her back on the floor before closing the book.

"Hungry?" She nodded.

"Right, there's still some leftover fish in the icebox."

* * *

The Guild:

"I swear, divine retribution will befall that Kazuma!"

Darkness frowned at her thief friend.

"Chris, what did he do to get you so worked up... and drunk?"

Chris downed her tenth cup of beer, or at least what she thought was her tenth cup, and slammed it down.

"Did he sexually harass you or something?"

"No! It's just- oh, I don't know! *hic*."

She laid her head on the table and turned to glance at Darkness with an increasingly unfocused eye.

"Say, what happened with that fight with Jack Frost. You seem a bit troubled after it..."

Darkness turned her gaze to the table and frowned.

"Well, we were on that snow fairy quest while Aqua and Kazuma were grinding in Keele's Dungeon. We planned to hunt down enough snow fairies to summon the Winter Shogun; I would keep it occupied until Megumin was ready to finish it off with a super-explosion."

"Huh, what if she missed and you two were defeated?"

"Well, everyone knows that if you surrender your weapons and prostrate yourself before it, Jack Frost would spare your life. Our strategy worked and it was blown to pieces, but then it started to reform with all these sharp edges that hurt your eyes if you look at it for too long. Megumin had been indisposed after casting that explosion, and Aqua's water magic would be useless against something that controlled ice and the cold. Kazuma told us to run- "

The edge of the table began to crack and splinter under the crusader's grip.

"And I took Megumin and ran when I bloody well shouldn't have! I could have blocked some of those blows, maybe lose a few limbs, but he wouldn't have-"

Chris, somehow snapping out of her drunken haze, pried Darkness's fingers off the table and gave her a concerned look.

"You saw the place that fight took in, right? Do you think you would have survived those attacks? Perhaps you would have been caught in the crossfire, distracting Kazuma and getting both of you killed. And before you say it, no, you're not a burden holding him back. It's just that the fight was too dangerous for you to contribute in any meaningful way. Even famous heroes like Mitsurugi would have great difficulty dealing with an anthropomorphised aspect of nature. **"**

Sighing, Darkness ordered a beer and drank it in one gulp.

"Maybe it's time to start .investing skill points in sword skills..."

 **...**

The sphere of pressurized air above Megumin's staff shrunk a little more and started to glow as more gas particles become ionised. The wind around her began to pick up.

" **Teleport!/** **Explosion!** "

The ball shot forward, propelled by a violet vortex of wind. A blinding flash and ear ringing boom. Space warped around her, carrying her away from the blast zone. What had once been two hills had been flattened, dirt vaporised and blown up into the air.

"Still not good enough."

Switching between two different incantations at high speed still took longer than she had liked; only shorter than casting each spell individually by three seconds. The only good thing was that the alternate method of casting explosion cost less mana, approximately consuming three-quarters of her total capacity.

As much as it pained her to admit it, she still had some way to go before she could get to Kazuma's level, the level of a Sage. But she _will_ get there. One day, her explosions will become as powerful as that woman's, where one casting is enough to level an entire mountain and severely injure the Black Beast of Destruction. And then everyone would still be alive at the end of the day.

...

Aqua groaned as she wandered around the shore of the frozen lake.

It gnawed at the edges of her mind; a strange pressure that intensified the more she tried to dig through it.

 _Something_ was on the other side, but she couldn't reach it. It was like diving underwater, and holding your breath as you do so. You can choose to sink down or swim up, and the deeper you go, the more you remember– but it gets harder as you progress, with your own buoyancy pulling you upwards, and however long you try to hold your breath for, eventually you'll return, gasping, to the surface.

Whatever memories or power that laid beyond, they were buried too deep. No, restricted. Almost like they were sealed off.

Sighing, Aqua shifted through what she had gleaned. Focusing on the falling snow, feeling the water locked together in solid form, she began to _push_.

And like that, the snow above her slowed to a stop.

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **AN:** Neophyte: a person who is new to a subject or activity.

Oh, and any suggestions for pairings?


	18. Restful

Six Days Later

"It's freezing, so can you shut the door already? " Kazuma groaned and crawled back under the improvised kotatsu as he went back to examining the latest golem design he had drawn.

The runic matrix he had carved on the underside of the table would provide heat as long as there was mana in the surrounding environment. Never had formalcraft been so convenient.

"… Kazuma. It's time to come outside alright? I know that being killed out in the cold would have caused some kind of trauma to manifest. But we're here for you, so let's overcome it together, okay?"

Megumin smiled as she reached to take off the blanket-

-only to collapse as she crossed the boundary field Kazuma had set up around the kotatsu. With a sigh, he stowed Megumin's semi-conscious body under the other kotatsu, next to a similarily insensate Darkness.

"How unseemly."

As if on cue, the last member of their party arrived.

"Joining us, Aqua?"

"It's been six days, Kazuma. You're going to revert into a HikkiNEET again at this rate. But don't worry, this goddess will cure you!"

With a sharp grin, she made an extravagant grabbing motion with her right hand.

The temperature of the room immediately fell, hoar frost starting to coat everything.

 _'A snowy white mist expelled from the gathering ice, sapping away any heat left. The ice in the centre gathered itself into a mess of fractals and edges, smoothly climbing out of the crater.'_

"No you don't!" Shaking his head, Kazuma began pumping prana into the kotatsu, the area around him grew hotter and hotter.

 _She's condensing water vapour in the air into ice, draining heat away like what the Winter Shogun did. Did seeing it in action give her new ideas about how to use her ability to control water? Though it's good that she's back to her usual self._

The wind blowing around the room picked up as convection took place; the hot air blowing up and over cold air. Neither relented in their struggle to gain control of the temperature of the room.

It was a stalemate. As the goddess of water, Aqua held almost absolute authority over her domain, so no expenditure of prana was required. As a wielder of the Second Magic, Kazuma can steal an endless amount of mana from alternate worlds.

"Seriously, when was the last time you actually relaxed and had fun, Kazuma? Spending so much time cooped up in your workshop isn't healthy."

 _'Cooped up in workshop' is basically the normal state of your average Clocktower magus; when they're not engaged in political manoeuvres that is._

"For me, it's just more fun that way." That was what the old man had said.

When was the last time he actually enjoyed himself? Quests? Somewhat, but he never let his guard down during those. Research? Nope, too dangerous; experiments with Sorcery were notoriously risky - he didn't want to cause a Bermuda triangle style incident nor accidentally create a train that steals mystic eyes. Honestly, he couldn't remember.

"Look, how about this: we have a snowball fight. if you win, then you can go back to your research. If we win, then you are joining us on quests for the rest of the month."

"Three against one? That's hardly fair now."

"Only beginner spells are allowed. Ten minutes preparation. And don't talk about fair when you could teleport snowballs into our faces."

"Point."

* * *

Rake gripped tightly in one hand, Kazuma peered out from behind a tree. A coin flip had determined who got the forested area and who got the field.

Darkness had chosen the snow shovel as her tool, while Aqua and Megumin had their staffs. The opposition had immediately put together several tall mounds of snow to use as cover on their side.

A hail of snowballs was launched from behind one wall, pelting the trees. They were trying to lure him out.

Kazuma focused, then starting sprinting from tree to tree, dodging every snowball hurled his way. While they were fast, the speed they were moving at was nothing compared to the Gandr barrages that Zelretch was fond using.

Eventually, he got to the tree at the rightmost edge, taking two steps up the trunk at an angle, then leaping into the air.

Taking advantage of his exposed state, a horde of snowballs flew up at him. Spinning the rake he blocked them. The few seconds of air-time was enough to see where everyone was.

Landing, he dashed to the centremost mound where Aqua was. She evidently realised this, as the snowballs started to home in on him, turning at angles. A swipe of his rake blocked most, but some curved around to strike him. Kazuma started to laugh.

 _She has control over water, makes sense that she has a similar degree of control over snow._

" **Create Wind!** "

A burst of wind altered their trajectories enough for them to miss, albeit almost grazing him.

Turning around the mound, Aqua came into view, arms blurring as she hovered over a cache of snowballs.

A roll allowed his left hand to gather enough snow to form into a ball.

"Here I come, Goddess of Water! Do you have enough snowballs in stock?"

Sinking the rake into the snow, Kazuma charged, then dragged it up, causing an explosion of white to block Aqua's view.

" **Freeze**!"

Most people would expect him to move laterally or leap in for an overhead strike.

With the energy from his charge and the smooth patch of ice he had created, Kazuma fell to his shins, knees bent, arching backwards. His momentum slid him down at the feet of Aqua, his action momentarily obscured by the snow and the goddess's attention to the sides and above.

The snowball broke itself upon Aqua's face.

 _Duck under the right, then deflect left snowball with rake._

As Aqua fell to the ground, rubbing her cold face, Darkness and Megumin had come from behind in a pincer movement.

 _They knew I would go for Aqua first._

Seeing how they had used up their snowballs, Darkness wielded the shovel in a two-handed grip and steeped in front of Megumin, who was reloading. Surprisingly, she managed to block all of the snowballs he had hurled.

" **Snow Explosion!**

The snow in front of Kazuma, temporarily blinding him. Despite its name, the spell was really just a combination of 'Tinder' and 'Create Wind' blowing up topmost layer of snow.

Running backwards, Kazuma managed to avoid a snowball to the face as Megumin charged through the snow. Now they were both out of ammunition.

Grabbing a fistful of snow, Megumin continued running at him, getting right into his face even as he tilted his body at an awkward angle to dodge. Dropping his rake distracted her long enough for him to-

" **Steal**!"

Steal her clump of snow and splatter it across her face-

Only for Darkness's hand to shoot from behind Megumin and slam a snowball into his forehead.

"Ack!"

Kazuma fell back into the snow as he rubbed his face.

"God Darkness, did you grind skill points for accuracy or something?"

The crusader blushed and looked away. "Yeah, it's only at Lv3 though-"

And a snowball smashed into her face.

"Free for all!"

Kazuma laughed and let loose. Strategy fell to the sideline as he grabbed any snow within reach and started lobbing.

"Oh, Kazuma! There you are."

Splat.

The basket of pastries dropped to the ground.

A dark and oppressive aura covered Wiz's form.

"My my, looks like I need to teach you all a lesson~"

" **「** **Ice Sign 」** **: Thundering Chorus of Snow**!"

An endless amount of snowballs erupted forth from the ground.

"Don't get cocky, lich!"

The snow falling from the sky began to condense into snowballs as well.

At the end of the day, everyone was a snowman.

...

 **AN:** Things get serious next chapter, beginning with a visit to Keele's dungeon...


	19. Resonance

"The balance feels good. Slightly heavier than a steel sword, but more durable. The shield is quite sturdy."

Darkness swung the adamantite-plated greatsword while carrying the shield with her other hand, nodding in satisfaction.

"Darkness, hurry up with the naming!"

"Be patient, naming a weapon is important. I need to think about it carefully…"

 _Come on Kazuma. Say it. You know you want to._

 _'Demon Cherry Tree Powered Vampire Ghost Blade' is not a proper name, so shut it._

"Hmmm, it has to be something majestic. How about 'Shisou Rinne, Reirou no Tsui'." Aqua suggested.

"..."

"Aqua, you do know that no one speaks Japanese except us and other 'immigrants' right?"

"Ehhh fine, it means 'Symphony of Death by the Sound of Transmigrating Souls, The End of Clear Bells' Ringing'."

Darkness shook her head. "Sounds nice, but way too long and pretentious."

" 'Rose-killing Carmilla'?

Megumin and Darkness both gave their leader a strange look.

"...Fine, how about Tyrfing?"

"Nah, Chunchu-"

" 'šà-gar' it is!"

Megumin visibly deflated as Kazuma wrote the name on the talisman attached to the hilt.

"You you, what have you done! Ahhh,my sword!"

"Kazuma, you do know that probably only two people on the entire continent can speak Sumerian, right?"

 _Admit it Aqua, it's still better than yours._

And henceforth, Darkness's sword was known as Sagar.

* * *

The huge, hulking thing laughed, screamed and sobbed in four distinct voices as Darkness bashed it to the ground with her shield. She got a good look at it, and wished she hadn't. A spine-sail down its back; its mouth filled with enormous, glowing, red teeth; a sightless, eyeless face.

" **Explosion**!" A small bolt of white met the creature, and with a resounding bang, its lower half was reduced to a charred mush, yet it continued to attack, dragging itself with its arms and lunging at Darkness. A blade through the throat quickly stopped that. Even in its death throes, it continued to cry out with their voices.

"Just what in Eris's name is that thing?"

"A weeper. Apparently, they're quite rare and usually dwell in caves or dungeons such as this. They lure their prey by mimicking voices."

"Yep and their venom is a neurotoxin, though distilling it produces a stable alchemical reagent."

"Did you come across one of these things before, Megumin?" Aqua asked while she prodded the carcass with her staff.

"In a way. Dad bought one from a passing adventurer to use as material for an item he was crafting."

 _It must have snuck into the dungeon before the earthquakes collapsed the entrance._

...

"I see, so you anchored your soul to your dying body, becoming a lich."

"That's correct, though since the World rejects such an existence, my soul would slowly deteriorate over time. And so, I have a request for that lady over there,"

"Request?"

"I'd like to move on, and your archpriest should be able to purify me. Oh, and seal off this dungeon."

"Wait, but you haven't told us about your master yet!"

The lich shifted his posture into one of embarrassment.

"As for my master, Adalric, it's better if you read this for yourself."

He handed Kazuma a few pages that seemed to have been ripped out of a journal.

"— _In hindsight, I should have known that this would happen. As I have no direct heirs, House Einzbern is tearing itself apart to determine who will be next in line to inherit the Crest, and with it, Heaven's Feel. God, there is enough vitriol spewing from the castle to supply a fertiliser plant. And of course, there are the endless requests for resurrections. Oh god, they never bloody end. An endless stream of magi offering political favours, money and everything else under the sun for a resurrection. I'm not sure how much more of this I can take._

"— _A letter arrived today to the castle, carried by a familiar powerful enough to ridicule all of the defences. It was a cat which had no fur. Instead, the surface was a swirl of untold colours which twisted and turned every time you looked at it. There was a big, permanent grin on the cat's face, and its eyes followed me in an accusing way. The seal was unmistakably Kischur's, for it was the only one that has given me a migraine by examining the shifting lines. Apparently, he wants to meet up in London. While I normally wanted to stay away from his schemes, but at the time, anywhere was better than being stuck here amongst feuding relatives._

A mess of scribbled out words covered a page before coherency returned.

"— _I learnt something new about myself: Being impaired does not seem to make myself any less capable. By impaired, I meant to say horrifically intoxicated. Most of what I remember is a blur, but this is what I managed to piece together. Kischur somehow managed to coerce me to drink a bottle of 'original' wine with him. According to the traumatised student beside me, we went on a drunken rampage through Clocktower. Poor Gazamy will never be the same again. There's still some wine left in the bottle, and well, we might as well go all out."_

"...Kazuma, can you stop smiling like that? It's really creepy." He did not stop smiling and read on.

"— _Reinforced wine has quite the kick. Well, we built an entire thaumatological foundation that quantified the quality and weight of individual souls and a contained space where deceased souls can be funnelled through. It's almost like a , what are they called again? A RPG? Anyway, the local divine spirits are quite happy, though one of them forced sobriety upon us by converting all the alcohol inside us into water. It's such a shame, I wanted to be drunk for longer._

"Let go of me! I'm going to burn it! Burn it all!"

...

The room was bathed in light.

"I welcome those who have grown old and those who have lost.  
Rest. Do not forget song, do not forget prayer, and do not forget me.  
Do not pretend. Retribution for forgiveness, betrayal for trust, despair for hope, darkness for light, dark death for the living.  
Relief is in my hands.  
Eternal life is given through death.  
Ask for forgiveness here. I, the incarnation, will swear.

I relieve you of all your burdens."

 **"Sacred turn undead!"**

* * *

The next day

Kazuma stared at it.

It did not stare back.

Through the operation of the Second Magic, he should be able to know what all instances of himself in all worlds know. _In potential._ In the World, as he is naturally bound by the limits his flesh, a single instance of him can only know a small portion of this information. To regulate the flow of information, he needed the kaleidostick. Pumping prana into it-

"My, my. I was wondering when you would wake me up. You shouldn't leave a girl hanging like that, you know?~"

He shivered.

"Emerald, I need you to-"

"Crush all criminals? Annihilate all traces of disobedience? Fertilise this town with the blood of the defiant and the lowlifes?"

"No! Just help me with operating the Resonance of Shared Knowledge function. Nothing more, and nothing less."

"How boring. But if that's what you want, I'll do it."

Sitting in the center of the magic circle, Kazuma took a deep breath, felt the spark open the path to alternate worlds, then

* * *

-took the salt shaker.

"Look, the Divine Blessing of Salt Reasoning allows me to never mistake salt for sugar and vice versa."

Dust, or rather, Rein Chelka, palmed his face. "Kazuma, is there anything your power doesn't provide you with?"

"Now you understand my problem! Nothing requires much effort if your power just gives you any Blessings required for the situation."

The spearman thought for a moment.

"Then what if someone poisoned-"

"Divine Blessing of Poison Immunity."

"Arrows-"

"Divine Blessing of Arrow Evasion."

"If you lose your sword-"

"Divine Blessing of Unarmed Mastery."

"...That's ridiculous."

Kazuma sighed.

"And the worst part of it is that I can't even get intoxicated since alcohol is treated as a toxin."

Dust patted him on the back. "Hey, at least there's no hangovers, right? Though I suppose even if you weren't so overpowered, your other party members would have trivialised most battles anyway."

There were very few things that could stand up to a party with the Goddess Eris, the Princess of the Realm, and a Crimson Magic archmage.

"I suppose, though it's not exactly that which is bothering me. The peace treaty is being signed tomorrow, so my concerns are irrelevant anyway."

He placed his glass down

* * *

\- and buried the tip of his sword down into the monster's right eye. There was a faint cough and a very brief convulsion, and then it went still.

A standing ovation. Kazuma tensed and whirled to face the Demon King.

"That was very, very cool," the man said with enthusiasm as he rose from his throne. The former hero ended his applause with a final, resounding clap. "A bit quick, but it was nice and brutal, so that's okay."

He returned the careless smirk directed at him with an unreadable stare.

"..."

"You really are something else, aren't you?"

He did not deign to reply, instead, tensing himself to attack.

"It seems Wiz and Vanir decided to bail out on their obligations; so I am almost out of generals. This displeases me greatly. Kazuma, will you become my new general.?"

He couldn't believe the man's nerve. "After everything you've done, you believe I will join you?"

"Why not? Have the trials I put you through not made you stronger? Made you uncover your true self? Really, you should know by now that you and I are the same thing at the end of the day."

"You're even more deluded than I thought."

"One does not change their nature. What changes is the perception we have of ourselves, and how we relate to the world around us. I have watched you since your arrival, and do you know the moment when I saw you at your happiest? Right after what you did at Elroad. _Laughing_."

He felt like I'd just gotten a sudden, cold shower. Shame was replaced with anger, then guilt. "And the aftermath horrified me."

"In this you are mistaken. It is not the result that made you unhappy, but how it made you look in the eyes of others. Tell me, if they had looked at you with approval and praised your actions instead of disgust, would you have felt ashamed?"

"I just want to help you better your understanding of yourself," the Demon King kept pushing, his voice comforting. "Is it wrong for a man to desire joy? So what if you obtain it through the suffering of others?"

"I know, because I was once the same as you. A counterfeit hero. A monster clad in the armour of a false knight. One who fought the enemies of humanity not because it is right, but to partake in their pain and suffering. A faker."

"Society, your so-called friends, have ingrained in your mind that false notion that this is somehow wrong. Something to be ashamed of. Unnatural This is not the case. Should you _not_ accept who you are? Why should everyone be themselves, but not you? Why live the lie?"

He could feel the fallen hero's words worm their way into his mind; insidious because there was no magic in it, no illusion, no mind control. Only truths he never wanted to face.

"Consider for a second, that you _are_ right, and that everyone else is wrong. That these false bonds called friendships _weren't_ shackles only holding you back from achieving true happiness. Were your friends not trying to push you into a role that didn't fit you? Did they always accept your choices, or did they try to _temper_ them?"

"Imagine what it would be like to be part of a group that would give you true, unconditional acceptance. That would not shame you for what you are born to do, but exalt you for it. Would that not be the dream you yearn for? Join me, and we will kill the gods and topple their thrones."

A dark part of his mind could picture it.

It _did_ picture it.

Perhaps the man before him was right. Perhaps this was who he was, and he had only lied to himself when he said that he could change.

 _"No, you are not sorry," she said. "But I forgive you, Satou Kazuma. Because you fervently wish that you were."_

 _He realized that Aqua meant it. A throwaway line from anyone else. All those unshed tears in her eyes and she'd meant it._

 _His fingernails dug into his palm until they broke skin._

 _"You say that as if thinking correctly changes anything,"_

 _Was that bitterness? He wondered if it should bother him, somehow._

 _"It is_ _a first step. Action follows thought. Virtue follows action._ _"_

 _"Yeah, you had me up to that third step. I've tried the Pascal stuff. A lot. I don't see how I can improve on-"_

 _"Again?"_

 _"Tried. Didn't work."_

 _Rather than answer, she rested her head on his shoulder. He felt the slightest bit of pressure from her chin; warmth came in waves from her breaths. It was a gentle rhythm. Soothing._

 _"Rejoice, then," she said softly. "For you have been given your own impossible burden to bear - and overcome. You have been challenged to prove yourself, Kazuma."_

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm just another monster making the world a bleaker place, like you."

"Exactly," the Demon King crowed, his tone triumphant, "By accepting your nature-"

"However, it isn't impossible to overcome my flawed nature through great effort," he cut the man off. "And that is the difference between us; you gave up while I will not."

Nothing else needed to be said. Their swords clashed with a thundering crash

* * *

-an explosion blew open his chest and shattered his ribcage, though the wound had already begun mend itself shut. He unleashed a burst of fire, now more blue than yellow, towards the mage, but the chimera tackled him, diverting his aim to the right. She had regenerated from his burns, now taking the form of a long serpent-like creature with scales that glowed liked sullen coals.

He felt his scales grow harder, heal faster, his flames hotter in response to the increasing threat even as he tore into her with claw and fang, ripping out swathes of fire-resistant flesh. His scales cannot be pierced, so the chimaera wrapped herself around him in an anaconda's crushing embrace. Deeper, the flesh is harder, the ichor making it slick. No matter. Even if her muscle was as hard as steel, he would simply burn hot enough to melt steel.

Pained bloomed from his wings. He turned his neck and breathed out a line of fire, making the demon king leapt back, now wielding a brilliant ribbon-sword of emerald light. While the armoured figure's previous swords just bounced off, this one was met with almost no resistance. But it didn't matter, for he had already reached the point where he healed faster than he could be damaged.

The slime oozed from the melted remains of the castles, and shot part of itself towards him. The flames wreathing his form incinerated it as it got close, for only the resulting noxious vapour to blow into his face, and force itself into his lungs without mercy, working to corrode away vital tissue even as he suffocated. The demon king's sword disappeared, replaced with a dark blue spear that had a smoking black substance coating its leaf-shaped blade. Rolling under his bite, the spear swung and cut into his eyes before piercing his side. The blade became as water, spreading into a network of thorns that tore his insides apart. He began to black out-

 _"You'll die if you do this." the masked devil declared with certainty._

 _"I don't care, now get out of my way." The memory of their flayed corpses_ _stirred the scales beneath his skin, just itching to be brought to the surface. The fire, too, was warm_ _in the_ _core of his body. He would burn them all._

 _"There is no doubt you would win, but if you go on, the one called 'Satou Kazuma' would cease to exist. What remains would be no better than the demon king."_

 _Despite his words, Vanir shifted to allow him to pass. They both already know what his answer would be anyway._

He stirred. Pain was drowned out by rage. He fought back despite being eyeless, suffocating, and impossibly wounded—sending bright blue flames washing haphazardly over his body, hot enough to melt the spear impaling him and then make it _boil_. He rolled over, shaking, and reached claws into his open chest cavity, sink into his own lungs without hesitation and ripped the organs out with an agonized jerking motion, poisonous gas streaming out of the punctures.

And then he stood. Even with the snapped spears of his ribcage framing the shredded remains of his entrails, he stood, the empty sockets of his face already filling once more with molten fire eyes. The slime tried to expand to cover him completely as the others fell back, but his head had snapped to the side and it had exhaled a shining white beam of focused heat, burning through it and the mage behind it. The ground beneath him melted.

Already, he could feel his control over fire, no, _heat_ strengthen. His mind spread out through the heat around him watched heat transferred into bodies, how it flowed through the air.

The chimaera turned to escape, and he grasped the heat around him, directing it into the creature. Ice formed around him as he watched flesh and bone vaporise. The demon king rushed from behind and futilely hacked away at his flesh. The armour was a black spot to his senses, heavily enchanted most likely.

Growling, his four wings opened as he flew up, out of his enemy's reach. Inhaling, he gathered heat in his throat, the temperature dropping until liquid nitrogen started spilling over him. The demon king stood his ground, a sword of peerless make appearing his hand. Harsh red light began to gather along its edge. He supposed that his opponent had nothing to live for after he burned his daughter and wife to death. Two broken men with nothing to live for.

They collide, wrathful white against hateful crimson. He expelled as much magical energy as his core allows. Each time his blood circulate, he adds more mana into his **Breath**. Each time he takes a breath, he can add more. Waves of force ripped through the burning landscape as they clashed.

The demon king is engulfed in his flames. The armour continues to protect him, but the dragon's power had grown strong enough to supersede the invulnerability it grants. The light ripped away layers of armour and skin alike, tearing away flesh and charbroiling bone.

Yet his attack did not abate but intensify into a torrent of mana. He will purge the entire country with his flames before his wrath-

* * *

-take another step.

He couldn't remember his name.

He had been a man once. Of that he was sure. He didn't quite remember what a man was, however. He didn't know what the word meant anymore. He knew, however, he had long since become something less than a man. Not even a half of it.

Once he remembered, he had remembered things. He remembered he had family and friends but he didn't know how they looked. He didn't know their names. Nothing remained, not even blurry images. Nothing but a feeling of absence.

His flesh, his blood, his bones had unravelled. His power had stripped them away, leaving only skin. It wouldn't be long before that was gone as well.

All that remained of him was the core of his being. Memories, thoughts, feelings, degrading one after the other. The darkness devoured his soul piece by piece. But there was one impetus left.

' _Walk away before you lose yourself._ '

The purpose had been lost long ago. Was it a promise? To someone else? Himself?

It didn't matter.

He was alone. And soon, the darkness would consume him completely.

"Kazuma."

Silver light in the shape of a girl. She felt as bright and overwhelming as the sun. Others had come and gone, though he could only recall some; a blonde in armour, a girl in blue and one with red eyes. He felt the darkness begin to slip from his control and leak out of the holes where his eyes used to be. The hunger intensified and was just barely squashed down.

What was her name?

"Do you still remember your promise? " _ said softly. Tears were flowing down her cheeks.

All the shards of his existence gather on a tiny foothold.

"You can rest now, Kazuma."

The foothold breaks.

 ** _Megidolaon_**

A star falls from the heavens, bathing everything in light.

And Satou Kazuma dies.

* * *

-Gloating was a waste of time and brought him no joy. Nor is inflicting pain; a tasteless act that was almost pedestrian. No, this was much better.

He took off the bandages that bound his eyes and saw past the veil of the world's normalcy.

Black lines and dots appeared in his vision; revealing the hidden fragility of everything that exists.

It was beautiful.

He traced the lines around the man's limbs with the knife, then stabbed the dot before the body fell to the floor.

Sweet, sticky smell of blood pierces his nostrils. The man's arms were severed, and the legs became stumps around the knee area,  
pressurized blood pouring out of them. He crouched and looked into Alderp's eyes.

He wondered what thoughts were racing through the man's mind as he felt the rest of his life spread over the floorboards.  
Perhaps memories of how he broke all those women, all the excesses he indulged in. Perhaps he thought about Lalatina. How he would use and abuse her body until he grows tired of her…  
Not anymore.

A shudder ran through his body like a warm caress and he grinned. Watching those black lines spreading across a body was better than anything he had ever felt. First Beldia, then Hans and Sylvia. The wait was longer each time, but he was nothing if not patient. There will always be another he could cut

* * *

"Resonate: Phantasm Summon."

The illusion covering his adventurer card shatters, revealing the class card beneath.

Sylvia's form seethed forward under him and refined itself into a form built for speed.

The Fourth and Hans are dealing with Alcarentia, and they will handle the Capital.

 **I am the bone of my sword.** _(His body is made out of swords.)_

 **Steel is my body and fire is my blood.** ( _His blood is of iron and his heart of glass.)_

The chimaera bound over the gates, coming to a perfect halt near the spreading edge of the consumed district, body rippling to cancel the excess momentum.

"Include: Limit Expand." Emerald etherized and reconstituted herself as the Sword of Paracelsus. Taking it in his left hand, he swung down and the buildings and everything behind them were gone, replaced by a grassy plain.

Sylvia spat lightning and death at the thing in front of them, even as her skin hardened into layers of ablative armour that were slowly shredded away.

 **I have created over a thousand blades**. ( _He survived through countless battles.)_  
 **Without regret. Without emotion. (** _Not even once retreating. Not even once knowing mercy.)_

The Jeweled Sword is slashed again and again, burning with prismatic light. He looks up, and beholds the sky. From it, various tendrils of dark energy descend from the dense, black clouds, into the ground, staining it with darkness. He could feel its attention focus on him.

The bodies of those it subsumed rose up and surged forward in a wave. Not the living dead, but bodies distorted by the thing's alien worldview.

"Trace bullet." Copies of the Jeweled Sword were drawn forth, cracks of light weeping down their surfaces as their _broke._

He loosed, and the areas the blades hit were simply _gone_.

 **Withstood pain to create weapons, burning the path behind me _._** _(He needed no one else. Climbing up the hill of swords.)_

 **My mind has long since turned to steel.** _(Thus, my life has only one meaning.)_

He had limitless mana, yet his foe was also the same, being able to generate mana by simply existing. Sylvia's third head roared, and a beam of decay was released; anything in its path was torn apart, leaving a flat expanse of bubbling land devoid of life, or even corruption.

 **There is nothing but unlimited blade works**. _(My body is made out of nothing but swords.)_

Fire runs. A grey, ash-coloured sky. Cogwheels that process metal endlessly. Black clouds that fill up the transparent sky. A colorless land that holds not even a shred of passion.

An infinite rain of broken phantasms rained down from the sky.

* * *

-I was almost at my limits, and attacked without saying anything more.

I moved my left hand out of the way and used my right to swing my sheathed sword at him immediately.

The first to move wins, there is nothing unscrupulous about it!

And a high level sword master with a powerful sword challenging a novice adventurer with weak gears was the unscrupulous one!

Mitsurugi didn't expect me to attack the moment I answer him.

"Eh? Wait! Hold…!"

Mitsurugi seemed to be in a panic, but as expected of a high level adventurer. _Aqua's in a cage._

He drew his sword and braced it horizontally to fend off my sword. _Hostage situation. Ransom?_

As the sword in my right hand was about to hit Mitsurugi's sword, I reached out my left hand…!

"'Steal'–!"

The moment I yelled, I felt the weight of a sword in my left hand.

Oh, I hit the jackpot.

The sword Mitsurugi was planning to block my blow with disappeared from his hands.

"Huh?" x3

I wonder who uttered such foolish sounds.

Probably everyone present except for me.

With my stealing skill working together with my attack, Mitsurugi who couldn't do anything was hit hard on the head by me. _Finish him off_

"Scumbag! Scumbag scumbag scumbag–!"

I knock him to the ground, and hold a hand to his chest plate, pumping prana into it until it becomes brittle. _Wait, what's going on?_

Then, I swing the sword down. _No, don't_ _!_

* * *

"Destroyer alert! Destroyer alert! The moving fortress destroyer is approaching this town! All adventurers please report to the adventurers guild with all your gear on! The citizens in town, please evacuate immediately–!"

.

.

.

"So what brings you to Ahnenerbe, ******?"

"I told you to not call me by that name, Second."

"And you expected me to listen? What happened in Kyoto happened, you can't deny that."

"I don't. The reason I'm here is to check on the situation at Snowfield."

"That Grail War?"

"What else is there besides that?"

"The scenery? It's quite nice at this time of the year."

"..."

"Oh, all right. The chances of that Dead Apostle winning and waking the Spider is extremely low. Almost zero."

"So there is still a possibility; even the two of us won't be able to handle the Ultimate One of Mercury."

"You worry too much."

"I'm old, so I'm allowed to do that."

"Well, I've already sent a representative to keep an eye on things. Anyway, how's that project of yours going?"

"It's proceeding well enough, I just need to wait until your student is ready."

"I see, that's good to hear. Well, best of luck to you, Fourth."

* * *

 **AN:** Views of alternate worlds.


	20. Excelsus

_"What's_ _the real reason for this trip?"_

 _Zelretch raised an eyebrow at his pupil._

 _"You are overthinking things again. No, this is not a test, or anything like that. I suppose I am simply in a charitable mood today." The old man's smile slowed turned into a grin, on that was jagged and sharp, the kind used to tear flesh._

 _"But if you really require a reason for this errand, then we are here to celebrate the death of a certain person."_

 _Kazuma only hummed in acknowledgement._

 _"Who was it? Sealing Designates are beneath your notice, no magus in their right mind would challenge you to a duel…"_

 _"Well, Prelati's not very sane, so he's an exception. The brat's tenacious though; Aozaki's going to have to kill him a few more times for him to learn his lesson and sets up that Grail War in Snowfield."_

 _Soon, Ahenenerbe came into view. The interdimensional café sported their poorly chosen name on a sign hanging above the entrance, which the two spared only a momentary glance at before entering the establishment. Despite it being noon, there was a noticeable dearth of customers, with only a girl wearing a red jacket outside her kimono and a red haired boy before them. It was also darker than what Kazuma expected. The sole sources of light came from the entrance and four windows placed on either side of the shop; the sunlight flowing in and silhouetting the tables and customers in dark, hard-cut outlines. The tables further inside the shop aren't so lucky, and projected a more solemn air with their gloom. It painted a nostalgic picture, as if some tavern had stepped out of antiquity into the modern age._

 _The two magicians sipped the tea they had ordered._

 _"Do you prefer tea or coffee?"_

 _"Since we're drinking tea, shouldn't it be evident?"_

 _"Just answer the question. Both? None? A mixture?"_

 _"Who mixes coffee and tea?! And I prefer tea."_

 _"Good. You just won me a favour from an old friend."_

 _"And here I thought you weren't a betting man."_

 _"It's important to enjoy the small things in life."_

 _The spontaneous conversation died out the same way it began. Spontaneously, in case you didn't know._

 _"Say Boss, why exactly did you name the shop after a Nazi operation? I get that your German and all, but isn't this a bit much?~"_

 _Magical Emerald jumped out from beneath Zelretch's cloak and bounced around the table like a grade schooler experiencing their first sugar high._

 _"Well, I just chose the name at random. Changing it is too troublesome."_

 _"Too troublesome? Finally starting to sound your age then - ack!" In a movement too fast to be human, the old mage clamped a vampirically strong hand around the Kaleidostick's handle._

 ** _[Deactivate]_**

 _The wand went limp in his hands._

 _"I still don't understand why Kaleidosticks even exist. The Jewelled Sword is more than an adequate substitute, even if it lacks autonomy."_

 _"Well, I wanted to test a hypothesis that all Magics are reflections of themselves. The Blue can emulate some of the time altering effects of the Kaleidoscope, while the Third Magic is capable of extremely limited dimensional travel. They overlap at certain points, you see? To test this, I attempted to replicate the effects of Heaven's Feel with the Second Magic. That's how the class cards were developed._

 _That wasn't quite successful. I got bored and moved on to see if I could grasp the ability to manifest Noble Phantasms in the Local Worldline."_

 _"I see, so that's how the initial concept of the Kaleidosticks was developed. Inorganic familiars designed to operate in simpatico with Class Cards to produce manifest Noble Phantasms."_

 _"Long story short, I got a bit too enthusiastic and, via a set of alchemical reactions, gave them sapience. After that, I went all the way through and modified them into the forms of totems magical girls would use. I thought it would be funny at that time."_

 _'Of course you did...'_

 _"That was what I intended with Sapphire and Ruby. Emerald, on the other hand, I made specifically to act as an anchor, compass and regulator during resonance. Streamlines the whole process and acts as a safe guard."_

* * *

The sword swung down.

Reality was broken as what was impossible was made possible.

Three attacks performed simultaneously. Not at ridiculous speeds, but truly at the same period in time. Three attacks that, when used together, provided no escape.

Stop!

His concentration was broken, and instead of being killed, the man before him received two cuts that would bleed hard, but weren't fatal, while the third missed entirely.

Mitsurugi blindly lashed out, flailing with no direction. _Finish him, a slice to the neck, gouge out his eyes-_ no, this is all wrong ** _SHUT UP._**

The wave of thoughts surged, threatening to split his head open, then slowly, mercifully receded.

Mitsurugi's followers had drawn their weapons, while Darkness had gotten in front of him, sword drawn.

So... are you supposed to be a hidden protagonist power or something? _Please shut up for a moment._

Moving his counterpart's body into a standing position, Kazuma held up his hands.

"Look, this is all just a misunderstanding."

* * *

"This is all just a misunderstanding!"

"Then you'd better start talking sense, 'Emerald'. What. Happened. To. Kazuma."

"Well, he's just stuck for a bit-"

" _Emergency broadcast! Emergency broadcast! Attention all adventurers, please prepare all your equipment and gather at the town's main gate. Especially Satou Kazuma-san and his companions, please head to the scene as soon as possible!_ "

As if on cue, the ground started rumbling ominously.

Flinging Kazuma's unconscious body over her shoulders, Darkness walked outside.

"Darkness, where are you going? Don't tell me you want to fight the mobile fortress destroyer? Taking on that thing without Kazuma would be reckless."

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to try." Aqua shrugged nonchalantly.

Megumin turned to her with an incredulous look.

"Think about what you just said! Not even an explosion can get past its magic barrier! Do you really _want_ to risk your life fighting something like that?"

A staff appeared in Aqua's hands.

"Well, this one has grown attached to this town with its Egil trees and giant toads. It would be a shame to see it reduced to dust and rubble."

She then attempted to strike a heroic pose.

"Once we defeat the mobile fortress, the entire _country_ will know our names. Soon, the Axis Church will spread and crush the black hearted Eris worsh-"

"I should have expected something like that." The arch-mage sighed. "And you, Darkness?"

"A crusader must never forsake the people they are responsible for protecting."

"Yep. Thought so."

* * *

"Oh, you came! Though I don't understand why Kazuma is unconscious or why there is a green wand stuck to his face..." Luna's enthusiastic greeting slumped into confused muttering.

"Magecraft accident."

The assembled adventurers began to talk amongst themselves.

"Thank you for responding to the emergency broadcast today! We will now start the emergency quest to repel the destroyer. There are no levels or job restriction, we hope everyone will take part. When the guild judges the quest to be a failure, we will abandon the entire town and all escape together. All of you here are the last line of defence for the town. We are counting on you!"

The staff announced with a loud voice, lowering the chatter down to a tense silence.

After that, the staff pushed the tables in the bar section into the middle of the guild, setting up space for a temporary conference room.

"Well then, everyone, we will start the emergency war council. Please take a seat!"

"Alright, I will brief the current situation! Erm… First, is there anyone who needs me to start by explaining what the mobile fortress destroyer is?"

Several adventurers raised their hands.

The staff nodded in acknowledgement and began:

"The mobile fortress destroyer is a gigantic golem, built by the nation Leidengard, which has advanced magic technology to wage war against the monster nations around it. Using their national budget and depleting their vaults, they constructed a colossal spider-shaped golem, the size of a castle. Utilizing large quantities of enchanted metals, it is far lighter than it looks, able to move faster than any horse."

The sound of plates clinking against each other.

"Worth mentioning is its enormous body and attack speed. Even a large sized monster would be turned into mush if struck by one of its limbs. The torso is protected by a magic barrier which could withstand any spell, up to explosion magic, as demonstrated in the 34th assault."

The sound of morale falling could almost be heard. The chairs and tables have began to audibly shake.

"Magic is ineffective, so we can only attack physically. We will be squashed if we go near. So we only have ranged attack in the form of arrows and catapults left. But the golem's defences are formidable to the point where arrows would just bounce off; as for the siege catapult, it would be hard to use it with the speed of the mobile fortress. To guard against aerial attack from monsters, cannons are situated on the body of the destroyer."

"..."

"The fortress went out of control during the destruction of Leidengard. With its incredible speed, there are no places on this continent which hadn't been ravaged by it at least once. As it does not discriminate between men or monsters, the rampaging mobile fortress is known as the destroyer. Whenever the destroyer draws near, the handling method endorsed by the guild is to abandon the town, wait for the destroyer to pass through, and rebuild the town. It is being treated as a natural catastrophe."

"Right now, the destroyer is towards the northwest of this town, heading straight for us. Since Kazuma-san is incapacitated and will not be able to participate, teleporting the entire town to a safe place won't work, so everyone, please give your suggestions!"

An adventurer tentatively raised a hand. "There might be plans of the destroyer left in the ruins of Leidengard..."

"No one was able to make any headway into the ruins without been attacked by those spider monsters. Any other suggestions?"

And so, another adventurer raised his hand:

"To deal with that thing, we need to dig a giant trap near the town…"

"It has been attempted before. Elrich gathered a lot of 'elemental masters', summoning the spirits of the earth to dig a big hole, and the destroyer fell in successfully. Everything was going as planned until the destroyer simply jumped out. Their plan included throwing down boulders to seal the hole, but they couldn't execute that in time."

"…"

The place fell into silence once more.

"… Any other ideas?"

Unexpectedly, it was the delinquent adventurer Dust who provided the next suggestion. "Well, the main problem is the destroyer's barrier and high mobility. If we get that Axis priestess to flood the area, then the destroyer's weight would pull it into the mud and slow it down. Unfortunately, we still have to deal with the barrier."

Laughing, Aqua stood up. "Leave the barrier to me, for I will shatter it in a single attack!"

If it were anyone else who made such an outrageous claim, Darkness would have thought that they were touched in the head. But this was Aqua, who despite her delusions of being a goddess, was capable of casual resurrections.

"There is a way to break the barrier?! The destroyer's barrier?"

Megumin waved her hand hurriedly.

"No, she said there is no guarantee."

"What nonsense are you spewing? You think my spell break cannot shatter a barrier? The only one who gets to decide such things is me!"

Spurred on by Aqua's boasts, the entire hall turned rowdy.

"Anyway, could you please give it a try? If it works, we can attack with magic…! Ah, but low level spells are useless against that mobile fortress. All the adventurers in this town are novices, our mages are lacking in firepower…"

The staff became troubled again and the place fell silent once more.

At this moment, a certain adventurer pointed out:

"Don't we have someone with amazing firepower? The one with a screw loose."

Once he said that, the guild became loud again.

"That's right, the explosion maniac!"

"Wait, there's also that loner girl! The screwed up one!"

Yunyun sighed in her seat at the back while Megumin stood up in anger!

"S-Shut up!"

She started blushing in everyone's gaze of anticipation.

"Ughh… Even with my explosion spell, I might not be able to… finish it off in one shot…"

She mumbled this and sat down immediately.

Slam!

"Sorry I am late! "

The one barging into the guild was Wiz who was wearing an apron on top of her black robes, who seemed to be in the middle of work.

From her dressing, she looked like a girl that came to help in the distribution of emergency food rations.

When the adventurers saw Wiz…

"It's the owner of Magic SHop Reon! !"

"The Ice Witch is here!"

"Shop owner, thank you for taking care of me in my dreams!"

"We will win! We will definitely win!"

The cheering started instantly.

"Why is that shopkeeper so famous? "

"Don't you know? Wiz was originally a famous wizard. She was a renowned archmage, disappearing for some time after retirement before showing up in this town suddenly to set up shop. Her business isn't good because most of the adventurers in this town are novices, and can't afford the expensive magic equipment in her shop. It would have been better if her shop was in the capital. We don't need to fight powerful enemies, so we have no use for pricey potions and magic items. Everyone drops by the shop just to see the beautiful shop owner, but don't buy anything."

While ushered by the staff, Wiz nodded at the people around her, sitting at a table somewhere in the middle. Soon, a workable strategy began to develop.

* * *

It was like putting sugar cubes into a glass of water. Emotions and memories that were both his own and not flowed and mingled with his own then settled down as he adjusted to the change.

Kazuma continued to draw the magic circle. After determining which Worldline he was in, all he had to do now was find's Emerald's connection and trace that back to his own world. In theory.

Unlimited mana? That's so broken! And taking things from parallel worlds? Why didn't you just get enough money to hire adventurers to take down the demon king for you?

 _The demon king of my world is allied with someone just as hax as I am, so you can see why that wouldn't work._

* * *

Aside from the adventurers, the townsfolk were gathered in front of the town, working nonstop to construct a temporary barricade. The designated area to intercept the destroyer was the plains before the main gate of the town. They knew it was useless, but the adventurers with the relevant jobs still set up simple traps. In front of the barricade, a group of alchemists congregated in heated debate as they drew formulas on the ground.

"Hey Darkness. I am telling you this for your own good, so retreat for now. I know how tough your defence is, but you are pushing this too far. Just let go of your useless fetish and wait at the side of the road with me, alright?"

"Chris, you know why I can't leave. A crusader's duty is to protect the citizens of this town; besides no one else is more suited for my role."

"You want to feel the pain of been beaten up by a fortress sized golem?"

"Of course. The more I suffer, the less everyone else has to."

"You are really stubborn sometimes."

...

The rumbling had grown louder, and the ground shook.

"Are you nervous? "

Yunyun strode up to Megumin, who was standing by at the side of the Destroyer intercept zone.

"Ha! O-Of course not! I will definitely succeed..."

"Yeah, I'm a little scared myself."

"Attention all adventurers, the mobile fortress destroyer is about to appear before us. Citizens, please evacuate out of the town! Adventurers, please get ready for battle!"

From behind a cluster of hills, it emerged.

A metallic colossus in the shape of a spider, scuttled on building-sized legs, each step crushing the earth beneath it. Countless barrels of weapons lined its sides. Worse, it moved at a blindingly fast speed, much much too fast for something so gargantuan. A weapon made to obliterate entire armies, endure salvos of high-level magecraft and prevail.

[HOSTILE ENTITIES DETECTED]

The Destroyer halted for a brief moment, before turning towards the town.

[ACTIVATING ETHERCANNONS]

* * *

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 **AN** : Sorry about my long absence, but I had a rather severe case of writer's block. I planned everything out already, but it was just so frustrating to write it down.

Tsubame Gaeshi is a technique where three concurrent arching blades close on the enemy from all sides to create a prison, allowing no chance for defense or evasion. While he downplays it as simply successive slashes done " _quickly_ ", it is actually bending the laws of physics to multiply its existence. It starts with a flash from this world, followed by two absolutely simultaneous, over-lapping flashes that disregard the concept of time and space, **producing a slash attack that arrives from three different directions by momentarily using the Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon of Zelretch's Second Magic** to transcend speed, dexterity, feints, and many other elements.


	21. Felling a Colossus

Can't you nuke the demon king before you leave? Or at least summon some money?

 _No, I've got my own problems to deal with._

You truly are me... So you're leaving me with these troublesome children?

 _Your friends, and yes you do consider them your friends, are more useful than you think._

Literally talking to himself proved to be a strange experience. It was like staring at the reflection in a bent mirror, where it was himself that was looking back, yet it wasn't him.

"Say, you're different from our Kazuma, nicer and much less of a HikkiNEET." Aqua commented as she peered at the increasingly complex formulas he was drawing.

"Why don't you swap places with our Kazuma-"

"No."

* * *

He watched the fortress arrive from his hiding spot and sighed.

"Axel Town is suited for beginners they said. Nothing happens there they said."

He threw his sword aside and picked up the spear. The persona of Dust receded, and Rein Chelka entered a stance. Using Eitr would be too noticeable, so he'll simply have to make do with this. He flooded the spear with his mana until it was on the verge of breaking.

Now, to wait for the right moment.

...

The bubble of nervousness in the crusader's stomach shrank away as she ditched her shield, switching to a two-handed grip on her greatsword.

Megumin picked some manatite crystals that Wiz had provided off the ground as she began chanting.

"Powered! Iron Flesh! Blitz! Maximise! Divine Favour!" Darkness started to visibly glow white as Aqua piled buff upon buff on top of her. Even Darkness's body could only handle a boost of such magnitude for a set amount of time. But that was enough.

Several of the destroyer's cannons began to glow an arcane blue as mana gathered inside their barrels.

"Priests, barriers!" WIz ordered. Barriers formed around the barricade, interlocking with each other at a sloped angle.

"Harden!" Yunyun touched the ground beneath Darkness's feet, then backed away quickly.

The hardened ground fractured and splintered as Darkness _moved_ , becoming a yellow blur.

Three steps and she was right under the Destroyer.

It fired.

Burning beams of ether tore through barriers, punching through four layers with almost no resistance and cracking the ones below, before swerving to the side and missing as Darkness cut into one of its legs with the force of a siege engine, making the Destroyer tip back. Jumping off, the crusader slammed into the fortress with a two-handed slash, causing an explosion of shattered armour plating.

Unfazed, the Destroyer charged into her in turn, using its bulk to send her flying through the air at speeds what would have killed a normal human. It's movements became impossibly faster, turning the fortress into a gigantic mass of roiling death. The two rained blows upon each other, each impact causing the air to scream with the force behind them, every errant strike cleaving the land to pieces. The fortress then slammed a leg into Darkness with no refrain behind its assault, shattering rock into dust and causing the earth to _shake_. Scuttling back, the cannons on its side swerved down and unleashed a torrent of light that engulfed the crusader. Darkness swung her sword with all of her strength, cutting the beam. Yet it was merely spilt, and the backlash of the two forces swept her up, swallowing her whole.

...

Dust ran, pouring all of his speed into this one dash. Abruptly stopping, he jumped and let loose.

...

The spear sliced through the air, which rippled at its passing. It tore through layers of armour like wet tissue before violently detonating with the force of a dozen bombs.

"Ah, it's been a while since I felt something this painful. Pain... yes, that is why I fight."

She stood up.

The Destroyer stopped; the intelligence that piloted the automated fortress coming the closest it could to incomprehension.

The charred figure stood up. Shakily, but _stood up._

Her hair was charred and halfway falling off, and her skin was blistered and red, sometimes charred black, but she was _alive._

Darkness smiled as she ripped off the pitiful slag that was all that was left of her armour, revelling in the flashes of pain that came whenever she tore off metal that had melded with her skin, leaving only the burnt leather underneath.

" **Sacred Spell Break**!" Taking the opportunity, Aqua fired.

Light washed over the Destroyer's barrier, eating away at it. The fortress dodged as best as it could and moved in irregular patterns, but it was too late. It's defence crumbled away.

[BARRIER NONFUNCTIONAL]

[DEPLOYING AUXILIARY UNITS]

The Destroyer's plating shifted and rearranged themselves as it retreated, golems falling to the ground from newly created openings. They marched and clashed with the golems made by adventurers.

Wiz started chanting as a sinister blackness outlined in purple flickered around her fingers.

" **Cursed Lightning.** "

Black bolts darted from her outstretched hand and flew into golems, tearing fist-sized holes into the constructs.

"I feel so useless..."

"Are we even needed here?"

Nevertheless, the adventurers charged, finishing off the remaining golems.

" **Teleport/** **Bottomless Swamp!** "

Megumin and Yunyun appeared in a burst of air, one firing off a spell that changed the consistency of the ground under the Destroyer, its weight miring it in place.

" **Light of Saber!** " Yunyun took a page out of her explosion-loving friend's book and poured all of her mana into the spell. She swiped her hand down, and an arc of cutting light burnt through one of the Destroyer's damaged legs, severing it from the main body. With the last of her enhanced strength, darkness moved, fingers sinking into metal. She lifted the building-sized leg and slammed it onto the top of the fortress just as her buffs dissipated.

The ball of heat and light that was 'explosion' in its inception turned and deformed. Megumin concentrated as she shaped it, making the front indent to create a cylinder sized hollow. A shaped charge.

Thaumatological circles appeared before Wiz's palms. Mana funnelled through these circles, glowing brighter and brighter as the power of her spell was amplified.

Even when severely damaged, the fortress fought on. Draining all the mana its core could provide at that moment, it's cannons so full of mana that they shattered as they fired. There was a low screech, and with a terrifying whine, a white light illuminated the entire battlefield, and a wave of force sent everyone sprawling. What came out was not so much a beam, but a _wave_ of power.

" **Explosion Derivative: Laevateinn!** "

" **Explosion."**

The energy of 'explosion' was directed in one direction, pushing through the destroyer's attack and burning right through it, even as Wiz's explosion engulfed in a pillar of light that touched the heavens.

...

The remains of the Destroyer was lying in the centre of a massive crater. Rivulets of molten steel, still glowing white-hot, have carved deep channels down the sides. Chunks of ceramic armour, cracked and partially melted by the heat of the reaction, lie strewn at random within the crater. Whatever grass was underneath it has been completely vaporised, carbonised into a fine powder. Its edges have warped due to the heat, yet the centre had retained some of its integrity, a testament to the enchantments cast upon it.

" **Freeze**!" The heat was rapidly drained away by Aqua, who was already climbing into the crater to take a closer look after healing Darkness and the other injured.

"Ha! The... force of my... explosion matches your's Wiz." Megumin mumbled on the ground.

"Yes, I'm surprised myself. Altering the method of forming the explosion to direct the force in one direction..."

"It's a shame. I liked that set of armour." Darkness remarked in a sad tone as she looked upon the molten slag that she once wore. Only her sword and shield survived the battle, though the adamantite greatsword's blade was notched and twisted.

"We did it! What's with that, I thought I would have to fight for my life! ( _Instead, we got carried by that overpowered party and the shopkeeper...)_ Alright, let's go back and have a beer! We took out a target bountied by a country after all, I wonder how much the rewards would be! And who was that guy who threw that spear?" Dust pointedly looked away.

"You idiot! Why do you like to act in such a cliche manner! If you blurt something like that-"

The fortress started shaking violently.

The assembled adventurers looked up at the mobile fortress uneasily.

Suddenly.

"Sy-sys-stems sustained-ed irreparable dam-dam-age. Self-dest-ruct-ruct sequence initi-ated."

The mechanical recording came from within the fortress again and again.

"Great."

* * *

Since no one wanted the town to be blown to kingdom come, the adventurers of Axel Town invaded the fortress.

Making their way through the massive gaping hole Megumin made, they eventually reached the centre of the fortress, when a series of pipes lead to a fenced off section containing a glowing object.

"Wait, that's Coronatite!" Wiz exclaimed.

"Eh, so it's not just a glowly rock?"

"No, Aqua. It's a type of ore rumoured to be able to hold an almost limitless amount of mana. Think manatite, except a thousand, no ten thousand times more efficient."

"So if a mage has it, they would have a virtually endless amount of mana to use?" Megumin was inching closer to the stone with a hungry expression. _Infinite explosions here I come!_

"Well, it's about to blow, so you can forget about that." Megumin slumped to the ground.

The stone's glow began to shift to an intense white. Everyone's gaze became nervous.

"There's a spell called Random Teleport-"

"No need." A chirpy voice interjected.

Emerald. Then-

They turned towards the new arrival.

"Kept you waiting, huh?" Kazuma rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"You all did good, so rest and leave this to me."

...

" **Tinder.** "

A small flame hovered over his fingertip.

Using it, Kazuma swiftly traced runes in the air overlaying them over the coronatite. Then he did something that he never tried but another him had.

Drawing the Jewelled Sword, he thrust it through a rune, slightly piercing the fabric of the world, making space warp around the boundary he had established. Spatial quarantine had been established.

The crystal flashed blindingly as it exploded, heat straining across the boundary containing it, attempting to be freed from the shape it was confined in. Kazuma carefully pulled a box that should have been too large to fit in his cloak, opening it and carefully placing the contained explosion inside.

...

It had been several days since the battle with the mobile fortress destroyer. The mood in the Adventurer's guild was unsurprisingly joyous today.

The adventurers looked at the guild staff with expectant eyes.

"Kazuma, it feels weird for me to be the one to say this, but you won't do anything rash with the remains of the Destroyer right?"

"Of course not, what do you expect me to do with a former weapon of mass destruction? Wait, don't answer that."

Darkness quirked her eyebrows at him.

"It's my pleasure to announce the arrival of the bounty! 150 million Eris will be divided evenly among those who assisted in the defence of the town!"

There was a roar of approval as excitement surged through everyone.

"Can I forfeit my share?"

The guild fell silent at Kazuma's question.

"Eh?" Luna cleared her throat. "Sorry, but why?"

"All that metal was going to be sent to the armoury at Ozryn right? I ran a few diagnosis spells over it, and discovered that the enchantments have been blasted away, so it's practically the same quality as ordinary steel. Can the guild keep my share of the bounty in exchange for the Destroyer?"

* * *

A few days later:

There was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, is anybody there?"

Kazuma opened the door.

"Is someone there… Oh, greetings sir. Are you the owner of this mansion?"

"Yes, what business do you have here?"

The visitor was a sharply man of around fifty, garbed in the suit of a butler.

"Hey Kazuma, who is it?"

Darkness glanced over from where she was seated on the sofa, paled and scrabbled for a book to cover her face with.

"Ah, is that you, young Mistress?

"Young mistress?" Kazuma shot a questioning look at the crusader, who was rapidly shaking her head.

That butler coughed dryly.

"Naturally, I am here for a matter of grave importance. Actually…"

Grumbling under her breath, Darkness walked over to Hagan.

"It's a letter from the royal palace. And this is related to your companions too."

After opening the letter, Darkness' expression became resigned.

"Show me the letter."

He read it quickly along with Aqua and Megumin who were peaking from behind.

"It's an invitation from the first princess of Belzerg, Iris... inviting us to meet her at the capital, Warthford."

* * *

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 **AN** : And now we finally start to have major divergences from canon! Alderp is still around though, but different from what you would expect.

Next chapter: Wiz and her past with Vanir, and a few details of the Fourth Magician and her ultimate goal will be revealed.


	22. Interlude: A Lich's Beginning

**AN** : THis occurs between chapter 19 and 20.

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* * *

While the store was closed today, there was a troublesome customer that made herself at home.

"Come on come on, I even brought snacks today! Wiz, bring the tea! "

"Yes, I'll go right now!" Wiz paused in her editing of the heater design Kazuma had given to her.

Without regard for anyone else, the troublesome customer nosily dragged the table from a corner and placed it in the middle of the store.

"Hurry, I have a lot of time today, so let's hear it!"

"By the way Aqua-sama, why are you so curious about my past? How should I say this; it's not much of a grand story you know?"

Wiz, who was pouring tea, smiled.

"In the first place Wiz, I don't know how you became the dirty existence that is a lich. Since you usually treat me to tea and snacks, I will hear your reasons first. If the reason for becoming a lich is justified, I will go with you to ask Eris for forgiveness when you leave this world."

"That aside. In this era, the magic skill for becoming a lich is forbidden, and it isn't simple to learn either. So I'm curious as to how you learned the spell in the first place."

"Well, it began like this-"

And so, with a nostalgic tone, the shopkeeper began to tell her story.

* * *

When we heard that one demon king army generals had hidden in a newly discovered dungeon, our party of three rushed here, but once we reached the end-

"Hah!"

As the last monster was cut down, the swordmaster and the priestess collapsed in relief.

Brad chugged the water in his knapsack and took a large breath.

"Hah, we've finally reached the end of this dungeon!"

"Eris-sama, thank you for allowing us to get through this unharmed!" Rosary offered a short prayer.

"You two continue to rest here. While you are resting, I will use my magic to check for traps on the chest."

I looked towards the chest sitting in the middle of the room.

This was either a bait to lure adventurers, or it was a chest that the monsters of the dungeon would use to store loot.

"'Trap Search'. 'Enemy Search'."

No reaction.

"Safe, it's not a trap or a mimic."

"Open it then, Wiz! Since this chest was placed so deep in the dungeon, it must have something good!"

"Wait Brad, let me confirm the contents of the chest, you sit here and rest!"

I smiled wryly towards the two who argued over the right to open the chest, and stretched my hand towards the chest––

Before I could open the treasure chest, it opened on its own.

"!"

Something dark flew out of the chest

Caught off guard, I swung my staff towards it on instinct, only to miss as the thing sidestepped it.

"My my, how violent! Regardless, congratulations on your grand prize adventurers, for Moi was unexpectedly the one in the treasure chest! Now, Ye who hath received Moi prize, allow to see through ye brilliant futures!"

Before us stood a masked man.

Seeing my befuddled expression, the masked man quizzically tilted his head.

"Hmpf, was that too much of a surprise? Moi do not feel the rush of negative emotions. Moi have already waited a month in this treasure chest, so Moi was hoping for a little bit more of a reaction…"

Hearing the masked man speak, I immediately rebutted.

"What are you? Why are you in the treasure chest! No, more importantly, are you a monster? So why did my Enemy Search have no response!?"

"How disrespectful to call the pure and forthcoming Moi a monster. Moi haven't even been introduced yet, oh lady who said 'safe, it's not a trap or a mimic', opened the chest with a triumphant look, and then proceeded to instinctively bludgeon an innocent to death.

Though this was the first time we met, I already itched to strike the masked man down.

"Ah, yes! Irritation is always a delicious appetiser. Moi am the demon king army general known as the duke of hell, the great devil Vanir!"

"Duke of Hell?"

I had thought that he was a mysterious rare monster, but never expected that he could be such an important figure.

"The devil of foresight, Laplace, right hand of the King in Black, Wearer of the Anguished Mask..." Rosary recited as her face paled.

 _This is bad, even a holy scripture may not be enough to take him out._

"Ho~ There is not many people who know moi old name." Vanir gestured to Rosary.

"You must be pretty devout to remember that part of the scriptures."

Even though we had come to slay a demon king army general, we never thought that we would encounter an opponent of this level.

The figure before us is a duke-class devil, a being that had once fought against the gods themselves.

This type of existence shouldn't be subordinated to the demon king that only fought against humans, but-

"You said you are the great devil from the demon king's generals!? No one like that would be sitting in a box waiting to surprise people! Wiz, Rosary, don't be tricked!" Brad shouted.

"Wait Brad, I recognize him! He looks the same as the picture on the wanted list!"

Upon hearing Rosary's confirmation, I readied my staff.

"Demon king army general Vanir! You will be defeated here and now!"

 _I have three pieces of manatite left and half of my total mana capacity. Brad and Rosary are fatigued from fighting for so long. The only way we can win is to set a trap for him or ambush him._

"W-Wiz!? Isn't this opponent too much for us to handle?"

We slowly began to move into position; words were not needed.

"We're fighting!? If Wiz is going to fight then as an archpriest of the Eris cult, I will also!"

Seeing us prepared to fight, Vanir shook his head in resignation.

"Even though Moi said that Moi can see through your wonderful futures, so why art thy have to be so barbaric? This is why zealots of the Eris sect and combat mage freaks are so troublesom-"

While Vanir was talking, Brad charged. His sword swept up, guided by skill and instincts honed through innumerable fights. Face, throat, stomach, heart.

Yet each lethal strike was dodged or guided away with effortless ease. But the swordmaster did not stop, slowly pushing the devil to one side of the room.

" **Barrier! Barrier! Barrier! Barrier!"** Rosary started to invoke a miracle.

Countless barriers manifested, limiting Vanir's movements even as Brad retreated.

" **Incinerate!"** A wall of fire rose up from the ground and was predictably dodged. But it did block Vanir's view of more barriers forming, this time with sharp edges. They fell in a diagonal angle from all directions, an inescapable trap.

"Hahahaha!"

Vanir spun into motion, taking a few steps up a wall with inhuman skill and dexterity, and descended, somehow dodging each and every barrier. The devil's movements were perfectly calibrated to put his body where it needed to be, impossibly efficient, but the motions looked like they had been designed by some algorithm that thought of the human body as an amalgamation of physical objects instead of an interconnected whole.

At that moment, I was reminded of how inhumane our opponent was, despite his appearance.

"That was pretty good, but not good enough." Vanir raised his hands.

"Since violence didn't work out, why don't we calm down and talk for a bit?"

 _Incomprehensible. I've used up all of my manatite, and everyone else is too exhausted to continue. He could finish us off right now._

The devil of foresight sat down cross-legged on the floor.

...

After Vanir had finished what he had to say, Brad showed a complex expression.

"So you mean, you, as a demon king army general, have been tasked with maintaining the barrier, and you have no intention to harm anyone?"

Though we were troubled by what this strange devil said, we didn't know what to do either.

"Like I would believe something like that! I mean this guy a devil you know!? Things like Devils are cowardly and fiendish creatures that only think about hurting people then feeding on their emotion! I bet you want to try and unseal your masters!"

Vanir frowned and a sudden chill came over me.

"Let's not get carried away here. Moi does not desire the return of these _things_ any more than you do. It would please moi greatly if they were destroyed instead of sealed away, but it will have to do for now."

The heavy atmosphere then lifted.

"Plus, moi isn't as bad as goddesses, who tell their believers that 'you will be saved if you believe in me', and advocate things like 'If you donate then you can go to heaven' to get money. Aren't they also existences that hurt people?"

"I will destroy you!"

"Wait wait wait! This guy completely outclasses us! Think about it a bit more would'ya? Would we survive if he went all out?"

Brad abruptly stopped Rosary, who picked up her mace, and released a deep sigh.

"I understand your feelings, but we came to slay the demon king army general stationed here. Though I don't mean it in the same way as Rosary, devils are the enemy of mankind. I don't think we can turn a blind eye to this." I said.

"What a dense girl; she doesn't even notice the thoughts and feelings of the people around her."

"D-Dense girl? What do you mean by 'thoughts and feelings' ?"

"Wiz, now's not the time for that! More importantly you two, this guy doesn't even want to fight, so just should calm down already!"

Brad got between Vanir and I, and flusteredly waved his hands.

"Mhm, it is as the man who is thinking 'it is about time to retire from being an adventurer and marry the companion whom I've always loved, and then pass my days peacefully' says.

"Oi what the hell are you saying! Don't say any more of those weird things!"

"Brad? Y-You couldn't be… A-About me…"

"I-I, well-um...?"

I don't know what they were making such a big commotion about, but I can't let this devil go.

"Then who is it? Is it Karen who split from us to go chase the other demon king general? She's already in a relationship with Yukinori you know?'

"Aahh, just shut up already!"

Ignoring the two that continued to make a fuss, I secretly chanted my magic.

" **Light of Saber.** " I whispered.

I violently waved my arm towards Vanir, who continued to amusedly observe the two.

The magic I cast was the favoured spell of the Crimson Magic clan. An arc of light that could cut through anything if the caster's magic power was great enough.

Vanir, who had been careless, was decisively cut through by the white light. At the same time, the two who had been quarrelling quickly picked up their weapons and assumed a battle stance.

It seems that they had noticed my chanting of magic and were buying time for me.

Vanir looked at his detached lower half with a surprised expression.

"To think that Moi would be defeated by a surprise attack… Well done, adventurers."

As he said that, his lips curved into a peaceful smile, and his body collapsed into dust.

It made me feel slightly guilty, since he didn't even attack us once.

"Sorry. Demon king general Vanir, even though we only exchanged a few words, I swear I won't forget about you."

Though I was relieved that we were able to defeat him, the devil's death left a bad taste in my mouth.

"…Wiz, that guy was one of the demon king's generals. As long as that guy remained, the demon king fortress' barrier would continue to be maintained. You did the right thing, so don't feel bad about it." Brad justified.

"Y-Yeah, destroying a devil is a righteous act! I'm sure Eris-sama is happy about it!"

I returned a small smile towards the two who tried to console me.

"It's fine, I'm not that soft. Now that this is done, we should go and help the others in their quest."

Right now, the other half of our party was probably fighting another of the demon king generals.

To exit, I chanted my teleport magic.

"'Teleport'!"

Once the teleportation magic was cast, the mask on the ground began to gather the dirt under it. A body formed and stood up.

"Did ye think that Moi was defeated? Too bad! Well, please come again from the dungeon entrance! Moi will be waiting for you, adventurers!"

We heard his immense laughter.

"..."

Teleportation magic could not be cancelled after activation.

Teleporting to the town that was saved as our checkpoint, we stood frozen in place, dumbfounded.

Brad murmured.

"Even though we used more than a week to get to the end of that dungeon..."

I will absolutely not forgive that devil.

A week later.

"Fuhahahaha! Fuhahahahahahaha! Delicious, how delicious! Thy negative emotions are truly magnificent!"

Returning to the deepest floor of the dungeon, we challenged Vanir to a fight.

"Wiz, Rosary! Do it! Obliterate him!"

" **Sacred Exorcism**!"

The exorcism magic cast by Rosary was easily dodged by Vanir.

" **Light of Saber**!"

However, he wasn't able to avoid my light magic that followed immediately after and was once again bisected.

Vanir, whose body began to collapse like last time, said in a serious manner.

"To think that Moi would be defeated again… Well done, adventurers…"

"Shut up! It didn't have any effect on you anyway! Rosary, now! Purify him before his body reforms!"

In order to put this devil done for good, Rosary had borrowed the Second Holy Scripture from the Church, a conceptual weapon designed to permantely destroy demonic entities. Rosary swung the glowing, ornate staff down onto the two halves of Vanir's body.

But before the light could consume him, Vanir removed his mask and threw it into the air with a disintegrating hand.

The mask flew towards Rosary and as if it was vacuumed, attached itself to her face.

"Hmpf, for a priestess this body is quite well trained.."

Rosary, no Vanir, paced around the area as if to confirm her body's condition.

"Brad, Rosary's body has been possessed! Avoid using your sword to attack!"

"A-Are you for real!? Rosary's a high level archpriest you know!? How could she be possessed so easily?"

Vanir turned towards Brad.

"I've been thinking about this for a while now, but Brad has the same smell as a goblin."

"Uwaaaaaaahh!"

"Brad! That's not what Rosary said! It's just that devil talking! Don't believe it so easily!"

As I looked at Brad who was covering his tear-soaked face, I understood how dangerous this devil is.

For it seems to specialise not in direct combat, but in inflicting heavy psychological damage.

"You know Wiz, how you always massage your shoulders in front of me? It makes me really upset-. I don't know if your breasts are really that heavy, or if you're purposely doing that…"

"Rosary won't say such things! Just get out of that body already, bastard!"

Though Rosary's body seemed to tremble due to the internal struggle for control, the devil was too strong.

 _If I can't attack, then-_

"Hmpf hmpf, your negative emotions are exquisite! Well then, what negative emotions will Moi taste next? As an Archpriest who is devoted to Eris, how could I allow this devil to do as it pleases! Brad! Wiz! Tie my body up with rope! Hm? She has quite impressive mental strength, even though she should be feeling immense pain."

Although Vanir still possessed Rosary's body, his tone of voice changed.

Hearing what Rosary said, Brad threw his weapon aside and charged forward.

"Wiz, use sleep or paralysis magic now! I'll hold down Rosary's body!"

Though he said that, he was stopped in his tracks by what Vanir did next.

"Wait, if you take one more step I will strip one article of this lady's clothing Noooooooooo! "

Before our eyes, Vanir began to strip Rosary's body.

First, he removed her skirt, and then reached for her top.

"Rosary, W-W-, What should I do…!?"

"For starters, close your fucking eyes would you!? Well, then the Moi who is kind will say this. Stay where you are and obediently look towards Moi. If you close your eyes then who knows what moi will do to her? Noooooooo! Nooooooooo!"

As Vanir moved his hands and threatened to remove the top, her lips curled into a dirty smile.

"Kuh––, since Rosary is held hostage it can't be helped! I can't look away."

"Just look away! Devils have no gender, so as long as Brad doesn't see it then there's no problem! Well then, this is some extra service. Look here, look at this sensational pose! Stopppppppppp! I will definitely make you pay! I swear I will!"

Brad continued to look intently at Vanir, who sat on the ground and began to spread her legs.

" **Sleep**!"

Vanir dropped to her knees with a thud, though he managed to throw his mask to the the ground.

As Brad rushed towards Rosary, the devil gathered the dirt on the ground to form another body.

Rosary has been retrieved, I began chanting the incantation for teleport.

"We'll retreat for today, but we'll come again! Demon king general Vanir, I will definitely defeat you!"

"Hmpf hmpf, that's the spirit I suppose. Today's negative emotions were quite delicious as well."

Together with Brad who carried Rosary, we used my teleportation magic to return.

At the final moment, this devil began said needless things.

"Then Moi shall see you, mage who shows a serious personality that scares other adventurers, but is secretly afraid of being alone in old age and is in a bit of a hurry for a relationship. Moi will look forward to the next time you come!"

After hearing what he said, the landscape before our eyes changed to that of a familiar checkpoint.

Brad fearfully spoke to me, who wordlessly faced the ground.

"You're in a hurry?"

I will absolutely not forgive that devil!

* * *

Wiz gulped down some tea and released a long breath.

"So after that, we would go to where Vanir-san was staying every week. Once the devil even copied my appearance and starting confessing to Brad. Every time we retreated, Rosary and Brad would start sulking you know?

Wiz lightly laughed as she spoke.

"Wiz, you were really amazing before weren't you. You're kind of like Kazuma back in those days, with the stern personality and all that."

"Is that so?"

"Though you are like this right now."

"L-Like this…"

The slightly depressed store owner averted her gaze.

"Heh, well I suppose our party was quite well known back then; the demon king of that time even put bounties on us."

"Is your bounty still valid?"

"Aqua-sama!?"

"I'm joking!"

Clearing her throat, Wiz continued her tale.

* * *

"Fight me Vanir! I will defeat you today, and send you to join your fallen companions!"

As usual, Wiz, accompanied by her two companions, pointed at Moi and announced her resolve.

"You already say those lines last week."

" **Cursed Crystal Prison**!"

The devil removed one of his arms and casually threw it towards the incoming spell. When the magic collided with his arm, it was immediately encased in crystal.

"What a magnificent object you have created! Not bad short-tempered mage, if Moi brought this back and sold this, it would surely fetch a high price."

"Neh Wiz, just leave this guy alone already. This isn't someone who would lose to us."

"Rosary is right. How should I say this, this devil defies common sense in a lot of ways. No matter how I think about it, I can't imagine this guy being defeated."

The archmage gave her companions a confident, invincible smile.

"It's alright. Did you think I would come here without a strategy?"

She retrieved a magic scroll from my knapsack.

"Regardless of who the target is, this scroll will forcibly teleport them to a sealed space. It doesn't matter if you're a devil or a powerful mage, anyone that is sent down there will not be able to easily escape."

Seeing her triumphantly announce the ability of the scroll, Bard and Rosary began to clap in unison.

"I see now. So the reason you went to the capital to see that famous person, was to get permission to use the underground prison."

"As expected of Wiz, with this scroll you can send him there and lock him up!"

The two of them were visibly moved.

"When this is activated, all living things in a one-meter radius will be forcibly teleported. Don't think you can escape!"

Despite this, Vanir stood in place without showing a hint of resistance.

"Take this! 'Teleport'––!"

With a large shout, she opened the scroll––!

And disappeared before Moi eyes.

"Wiz?"

Seeing Wiz suddenly disappear, her two companions shouted in surprise.

"The real body of powerful devils are always in hell. When we appear in this world, we merely use some method to create a body, and then take possession of it. Basically, to the World, Moi am not considered a living organism. That mage pointed it out herself, that 'all living things one-meter radius will be forcibly teleported.'"

"Your leader is far too interesting. Does she come every time in order to entertain Moi? …Will you two fools be able to return to the surface safely?"

"...We'll try."

...

"So you came again, absent-minded mage."

"A-Absent-minded mage? Brad, Rosary, prepare the thing that we brought!"

Wiz stood in front of Moi, as the other two surrounded him in a triangular formation.

The three of them each brought out a dagger, and stabbed them into the ground in unison.

Then, Vanir was enclosed by a triangular barrier.

"We purchased this prized magic tool directly from the village of Crimson Magic! Though this was obtained at an extremely high price, anyone trapped by it cannot escape, and it is also impervious to all attacks! Furthermore, the effect will last for an entire month! It is an amazing item!"

Hearing what she said, Vanir approached the barrier and poked it.

"This way, you cannot attack us, nor can you escape. On the flip side, all we need to do is stay outside the barrier and rest until our mana is replenished. This will be a one sided hunt! Now Rosary, do it!"

Perhaps it was because Wiz felt like she would no longer have to put up with Vanir's actions, so her expression was filled with extraordinary triumph.

However:

"Neh Wiz, didn't you say that 'it is impervious to all attacks', and that 'anyone trapped by it cannot escape'? Can my miracle pass through and hit Vanir?"

Wiz's triumphant expression froze as she took in the meaning of Rosary's words.

Vanir laid down on the ground with a plop.

"Moi see. In order to protect Moi from vicious adventurers filled with bloodlust, you spent a great fortune and bought this for Moi. Well then, Moi shall allow Moiself to be spoiled by this pleasant gift, and temporarily indulge in a sedentary lifestyle."

"Kuuuuuh––!"

Seeing him lay down using his right arm as a pillow, Wiz grinded her teeth in frustration, and pressed her cheek against the barrier.

"Wiz, sometimes, I don't know whether I should call you a genius or an idiot."

"Neh Wiz, you said that you used half of your savings in order to get this magic tool right? Are you living expenses fine? Do I need to lend you some?"

Wiz directed a sideways glance towards her empathetic companions. In this time, Vanir deliberately shifted himself into Wiz's line of sight, and presented to her the entirety of his defenceless visage. The devil even added a long yawn to taunt her.

"The inside of this barrier is more comfortable than Moi expected. Would thy like to join Moi? …Oh Moi bad, Moi forgot that people cannot enter into this area, please do pardon Moi!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH––!"

Seeing Wiz furiously bang on the barrier in frustration, Brad and Rosary tried to pull her away.

"Calm down Wiz, your image of the 'always cool ice witch' is breaking."

"How about we go home for today? This barrier will last for a month right? Since we can't do anything about it, how about we go defeat another general somewhere else? Yukinori and Karen are having more trouble than expected as well."

Having judged that doing anything more would be wasted effort, the two companions stepped in to stop Wiz.

"Oho~? Thy has a cool nickname like 'the ice witch'? Moi is interested in your true power! How about this, Moi will not resist in any way so that Moi may witness your power firsthand!"

"'Light of Saber!'"

Wiz – whose mental state had snapped in its entirety – quickly chanted magic and slashed at Moi. In the end, not only did the magic not hit Moi, it did not even leave a scratch in the barrier.

"Fuhahahahahaha! Even though the name of 'the ice witch' makes people think that she is cool, each and every time she comes to display her true talent, Moi cannot help but enjoy it in its entirety! Oh, amusing mage! Moi will forgive you for this ruckus today, so please come again after one month!"

"Demon king general Vanir! You'll regret this in one month!"

Wiz, who frustratedly was bit her lip and held back tears, managed to say this line towards Moi, and as usual, she used teleport to return home.

A month later:

A cold, sharp gaze.

In the cold atmosphere that would surely remind one of ice, Vanir stood straight up. It was just as the sage had predicted.

"Good grief. The ice mage whose spirit is different from usual, what's wrong? Are you so indebted now that you don't care how you appear anymore?"

" **Sacred Flame**!"

Vanir dodged the burst of purifying white flame casually.

"How rude. Did thy forget to bring companions today?"

The two that always accompanied her were missing. Furthermore, even though he had thrown a light joke towards Wiz, she did not relax.

"Though it's regretful, I did not come around to play today."

With a cold expression, she took out a flask and drank from it.

He recognised the potion.

A concoction that consumed part of the user's lifespan in exchange for the ability to use environmental mana.

"You-"

Vanir was answered with a storm of razor wind.

The devil ducked just in time to avoid getting shredded, then jumped into the air, dodging the lances of fire and bolts of lightning in an impressive display of aerobatics. Forced out of the room they were in, Vanir noticed that the corridor he had entered was littered with pieces of paper.

The runes on them glowed and he was engulfed in an explosive discharge of energy. Even as earth flowed up to rebuild the damage to his body, Vanir laughed. _So that is what she's trying to do._ Since she knew that his precognition allowed him to choose the most efficient way to dodge her attacks, she's deliberately leaving obvious avenues of escape to traps set up beforehand.

Vanir laughed. It seems he'll have to actively defend himself instead of merely dodging. _How entertaining!_

...

Wiz powerlessly dropped to the floor, having exhausted most of her mana.

 _One piece of manatite left, and there is not enough mana left to draw upon from this place._

The entire dungeon had been blasted apart into a cave, and parts were already starting to cave in.

"Ah, that was quite the impressive rampage, but unfortunately, it still isn't enough."

Vanir waited as Wiz slowly pulled herself to her knees. Everything was going to plan. Now, there was one thing she still needed to do.

Pulling on the last drops of mana left in her reserve, she pushed it into the ground, then grasped the manatite.

" **Teleport**!"

The runes she had carved in different places around the mountain activated just as she disappeared from view.

Heat was drained away, causing the entire dungeon to freeze, before being released in a wave.

The mountain began to collapse in on itself, before a beam of devouring darkness neatly bisected it.

...

Wiz, who had staked her life without hesitation, left Vanir at a loss for words, even if he had been told about what may likely happen.

This was the second time in centuries that the devil had been pushed to this extent, and the first wasn't quite human. He had vowed not to use his power against a human opponent, but this time, he was unable to follow through with that decision.

Though Vanir had nullified Wiz's magic countless times, and forced her to consume all her crystals and magic tools, he never thought that she would blow up an entire mountain for the sole sake of defeating Moi.

As a result of depleting her magic power, Wiz could only sit idly on the ground. She looked up towards him.

"Why are you such an unfair devil? Is there even a way to defeat you?"

"If thy want to at least deplete one of Moi lives, I suppose thy shall need to learn explosion magic."

Wiz laughed at that.

"You're right… Then next time why don't I learn explosion magic? If there is a next time."

Saying that she pulled something out.

It was a single piece of paper.

Wiz pushed the paper towards Vanir, and quickly closed her eyes.

"…A contract?"

Written on the paper, were the terms of the contract.

In exchange for her soul, she wanted the curse that had been placed on her companions removed.

"What are your intentions?"

"Is my power not enough for this contract? Even though I thought I displayed my true abilities..."

"To be honest, Moi am impressed that a human was able to push Moi this far. However, Moi does not quite understand the contents of this contract. To lift the curse in exchange for thy soul?"

Wiz straightforwardly answered Moi inquiry.

During the month that Vanir spent pointlessly in the barrier, Wiz's group accepted another request to hunt another of the demon king's generals. Though they managed to heavily wound the general in the fierce battle, everyone in the area was cursed with 'premonition of death' by the dullahan.

They were given one month to live.

Even the greatest archpriests in the capital were unable to lift the curse. In order to spend the rest of their lives meaningfully, her companions decided to live through each and every day, doing things without regret.

"For the sake of saving the lives of your companions, you came here alone."

"I considered pursuing Beldia in order to lift the curse, but he had already retreated into the demon king's castle. From your expression, I suppose my life not enough?"

Wiz laughed at her own helplessness.

She had used up a large portion of her lifespan. She should understand that what she offered was not of equal value to her wish. In other words she had bet on a lost gamble.

Though she put up a stern and professional demeanour, the woman was actually an awkward and kind mage. Vanir understood why she was a potential inheritor of _that role_.

"Of course, it is not enough."

Having too, expected such an answer, Wiz slightly nodded and smiled weakly.

"Moi am the duke of hell, Moi am Vanir, who is considered to be more powerful than the demon king himself. A soul that has been consumed by a magic tool is not a worthy price to pay."

Wiz gave a wry smile.

"However, its not like there's no other way to lift the curse."

"If you give me such expectations, and then say 'Too bad! There is actually no other way!', I will do everything I can to bring you down with me ok?"

"If you are willing to do anything to save your friends, to abandon your humanity, then-"

A week after Wiz became a lich:

When she got to the castle of the demon king, Wiz realised that something was very wrong.

For one, the characteristic barrier enclosing it seems to be absent. There were no patrols and guards, no archers and mages raining salvos of arrows and spells down upon here. It looked empty, deserted.

Aside from the women seating in the loveseat in front of the drawbridge. She gestured to the armchair and table next to her.

 _Her appearance doesn't match that of Wolbach nor Sylvia. Perhaps she is that hooded mage that had been sighted recently?_

* * *

Wiz drank some more tea.

"That was the sage, right? Did she attack you? What happened next?!"

Aqua was listening intently.

"Well, funnily enough, we first introduced ourselves and had a conversation about coffee and tea."

* * *

"Coffee or tea?"

 _Why is she asking me this? Is some kind of trick?_

"Good, I was hoping for that. Though I always preferred a mixture myself; three parts coffee and seven parts of milk tea. Best of both worlds and all that."

 _This woman is a lunatic! No one sane mixes coffee and tea!_

"But enough of that. You'll be glad to know that I made Beldia lift his curse off your friends."

Wiz shook her head. The woman continued to smile.

"Why?"

"Well, you were going to try and break into the castle anyway, and I do not want to have to repair the barrier again. This saves us both some time, no?"

"..." _Why is she even-_

The woman's grin widened.

"Why am I even on the side of the demon king? Your mistaken, for I am here as a contractor of sorts. There's something I want to try, and the demon king merely allowed me to experiment on his territory. Of course, taking care of some locked up things is also something that has to be done."

"You mean the barrier?"

"That is correct, amongst other things."

The woman abruptly stood up.

"Look, the reason I am here is to propose a wager. We will fight, and whoever incapacitates the other wins. If you win, you are free to leave here. Lose, and you will become a general for the demon king.

 _Why?_

"Well, you're a lich, so you can't just return to be an adventurer. And I need someone else to check my work on the barrier and improve its efficiency, something you'll find interesting."

"And if I refuse?"

"You're under the expression you have a choice in the matter."

Wiz's instincts screamed as she lunged to the right, just as the air warped inward. Gravity increased a hundredfold in an instant, crushing the chair she was sitting on.

And the battle began in earnest.

* * *

"As you know, I lost."

* * *

Wiz panted as she looked at the absolute destruction around her. Crushed, fractured, split, splintered, and otherwise just completely annihilated described pretty much everything in the area.

"Tch, to think that monsters like her exist."

Nothing the archmage used had worked against the women. Every spell was nullified or unravelled when they reached her, while each of the woman's spells would have taken Wiz out if they hit.

"I see. That cloak of yours absorbs any magical attack, but is limited to defusing a finite amount of magic. Hoyaizaburo's work is as reliable as ever."

The woman floating in the air raised one hand, and light gathered in their palm. Everything darkened as more light was drained away until day turned to night.

An attack like this cannot be blocked or avoided.

" **Drain Life**." The earth itself trembles. Expanding and retracting in a split second, an aura of death spreads around the entire plain. In that moment, everything in the vicinity just died, giving their life energy to the lich. The swirl of magical energy around Wiz immediately thickens.

 _Still not enough._

"Route set. Direct current formation, first layer, second layer... third layer."

So she would do the next best thing.

"Anchoring magical energy."

Slamming a hand on the ground, Wiz went deeper, draining the mana swelling up from the bowels of the earth. The ley line was a rushing torrent of mana that provided her with as much energy as she needs, far more than any single human could manage.

A magical circle ignited itself under her, burning blue in the darkness.

"Firing angle, ok. Formula stability, acceptable."

The lich raised her right hand and aimed it at the light.

The barrel was aimed.

Her opponent let loose, and a pillar of searing light descended from above.

" **Starbow Break!** "

A torrent of burning ether burst forth from Wiz's outstretched hand to clash with the light.

The clash of magical energy rips through the landscape. Pieces earth are ripped off from the ground into vortexes of wind that disperse into the surroundings.

Yet, it isn't enough, so Wiz screamed as she plundered even more mana from the earth.

Everything went white.

* * *

"You survived that?!"

"Well, I wouldn't be here talking to you if I weren't."

Aqua let out a breath. "You sure are crazy strong when you get serious, huh?"

Wiz shrugged. "I guess."

Outside, the sun was on the verge of setting.

"Well, thanks for the tea, Wiz! You better have another story for me tomorrow!"

"Right." Wiz watched the front door of the shop open and close as Aqua exited.

As she turned back, something awful flickered in the corner of her eye. For just a split second, she thought she saw an immense, cadaverous shadow bending over an aisle.

" **Paralyze**."

The spell hit empty air.

"My my, such violence! It's quite rude to behave so in polite company."

Long, slender hands fell on her shoulders, fingers coming down one by one and gently trapping her.

Wiz frowned and loosed herself from her grip. "It's a good thing you're neither 'polite' nor 'company' then."

"Really now? After all I've done for you?"

"You almost killed me when we first met, alright?"

The magician was clad in an extravagant dress of white ruffles and purple satin. Her features were sharp and aristocratic, beautiful like an unforgiving mountain range even when she smiled.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, then?" Wiz asked.

"I'm just here to let you know that Beldia has made a full recovery. He seems satisfied with his new body."

The sorcerer walked past Wiz to look over a series of manuscripts on her desk.

"Ah, and this must be Keele's notes. I'm not surprised Kazuma gave it to you for safekeeping."

She chuckled. Something writhed in the corner of Wiz's vision, but she kept her eyes locked straight ahead. "What do you want to do with it?"

"Oh, nothing, its quite useless to me. But you should read it, some parts are fascinating..."

"Is that so?" There was a weird, nauseous moment where the folds of the woman's dress looked like a series of patterns and fractals interwoven together, but then Wiz met her violet eyes and everything settled into three dimensions again.

"Yes." The woman took a single measured step and was suddenly at the door, twenty meters away. "I suppose I'll have to wait and see what you'll do with it."

She laughed in a voice clear as a bell and full of warmth. The lovely sound almost distracted Wiz from her shadow, which was doing some pretty unnerving things. "And by the way, if you see a red shadow, ignore it and run to the door."

The magician turned and, over the course of about half a second, her form stretched taller and taller, thinner and thinner until she slipped into a gap between the fibers of space itself and vanished. A friendly hand brushed across Wiz's shoulders.

"After all, I'd hate to see you die."

The shop was empty of visitors once more.

Wiz sighed.

"She's must have been very bored today. God, I hope Kazuma won't turn out like her when he gets older."

* * *

.

.

.

:)


	23. Interlude: Shield

_She was the dearest woman to me._

 _But she is no longer here in this world_ ,

 _because I killed her._

* * *

 _She was born an only child of an ordinary family._

 _Despite suffering from health issues in her youth, she grew up to become an adventurer._

 _Then one day, she fell in love._

 _Despite the difference in their statuses, and facing strong opposition from the man's parents, they married._

 _Then I killed her._

* * *

 _I was born in exchange for her life._

 _Today is my birthday, and also the day my mother passed away._

 _My father showed me a picture of her when she was young._

 _Although the doctor warned her of losing her life at delivery, she had no second thoughts and immediately decided to give birth._

 _Thus, she had me, and died._

* * *

 _I asked my father if I was the one who killed mother._

 _"No Lalatina, she gave her life for you."_

 _I think I believe him._

 _Today is my birthday._

 _It is also the day the woman dearest to me passed away._

* * *

.

.

.

.

 **AN** : Next chapter will be a regular chapter.


	24. Opening Up

The sun had barely begun to peek out from the horizon when they started.

She steadied her breathing as they circled each other, waiting for that explosion of force that would signal the start of the fight.

Her opponent took the initiative, stepping forward and delivering a vicious palm strike, then struck with his knee, making a downward strike with his elbow at the same time that he stomped the ground with enough force to raise dust in a small cloud around his foot.

Aqua moved fluidly around each blow like a river's water around the rock in its path, then launched herself forward, arm moving in a solid line, fist turning in a circle to increase the damage of her attack.

Kazuma deflected the strike with his own. His arms shook as his opponent's blow pushed him back. The clashing between the two continued uninterrupted for over ten minutes, an exceptionally long time for any fight. By that time, both had distanced themselves from one another for the final time. He breathed heavily as his body gasped for air. He could feel several bruises forming on various sections of his body and head.

"You are still having trouble maintaining yourself after your fourth chained opening." Aqua was also breathing more heavily, though still noticeably composed.

"I'll have to practice more then. Still regret putting those skill points into martial arts instead of party tricks?"

"Hmph." Aqua crossed her arms.

"It's more enjoyable than I expected. Finding the path of least resistance is easy for the goddess of water." She spoke of it not as one of her usual boasts, but as a fact.

They both sat on the ground and rested.

"Since Darkness is coming clean, are you going to tell them before we leave for the capital tomorrow?"

"Tell them what?"

Aqua huffed and turned to glare at him.

"Right. But it isn't like I was being subtle. They should at least have some suspicions."

"Being forthcoming isn't going to hurt anyone, Kazuma."

"Hm. You know, I never expected reasonable advice from you."

Aqua's right eye twitched as she stood up, looming over Kazuma.

"...What exactly are you implying?"

"That you used to be an arrogant, lazy goddess that was only for healing-"

He ducked under a punch.

"Says the sorcerer who can't even properly use Magic before fainting!"

"Oh? And who was the one that got swallowed by toads?"

The back door slammed opened and a zombie came out.

" **Turn Unde** \- oh, it's just you, Megumin." _She's never been a morning person._

The not-zombie stared at them with dead eyes, body leaning on her staff.

"...if you two don't shut up, I'll explode you..."

...

"Aqua, did you mix the tea with coffee?"

The brew looked like coffee, except that it was lighter in colour.

"We didn't have enough tea, so I added coffee to it." There was a glint in Aqua's eye.

 _I don't want to drink this, but I can't just let it go to waste either._ Kazuma lifted the cup in front of his eyes challengingly. The white porcelain offered no answers. No clues, and no hint of the possibilities that lay within.

Because it was a mug.

Sighing he lifted it back and took a long sip.

Before the world exploded.

Warmth enclosed him like a lover. The fresh breeze of the morning seemed to break through the windows to invade his nostrils and invigorate him. Birdsong. Their morning trilling filled him with an inner peace that was hard to describe in words. _"Kazuma? What are you doing?"_ It was an epiphany, as though he had realised the meaning of it all, and was able to block out all distraction. No worries for the future, or the past. Only the beauty of the now.

"Kazuma!" A voice screamed from nearby, causing him to rear back as his peace crashed into a million pieces around him.

"Are you ok?" He looked up to see Darkness clutching a plate of pancakes staring at him. She looked vaguely confused.

"You must have imagined it." Kazuma deflected, unsure of what he had actually done from being brought out of his happy place. Idly his eyes glanced down to see that his mug was empty, when had he drunk it all!?

...

"Lalatina Ford Dustiness is my real name. My family governs this area. Something that we have considered an honour as we served to take care of both the land and her people for generations." Darkness admitted. Kazuma noticed that her posture had changed, giving her an almost regal air.

The silence lasted some time as the crusader's companions processed the information. Kazuma was the first to speak up.

"I see. I presume you did not want any special treatment from us and establish a reputation of your own that goes beyond your family's status?"

"That is correct." Despite her composure, Darkness tugged at the hem of her skirt.

"You say things like 'A crusader's duty is to protect the citizens of this town!'. But your real name is Lalatina! It's so cute!" Aqua laughed.

"Don't call me Lalatina!" Lalatina's face turned red as she pointed at Aqua.

"Well, this might be surprising, but Darkness is Darkness. For me, Darkness is a tough crusader; an important comrade. That's all." Megumin yawned as she finished drinking from her mug.

When she heard Megumin say that, Darkness smiled in relief.

Seeing their interaction, Aqua pointed at herself cheerfully. "… Hey, hey, I have something shocking to tell you, okay? Well, I've said this before but you didn't believe me… Actually, I'm a goddess!"

"Wow, that's great." Darkness said sarcastically.

"Why don't you believe me?!"

Kazuma cleared his throat and took a breath. Of course, he wasn't nervous at all. He was merely slightly concerned at how they would respond.

"Well, since Darkness is coming clean, I also have something to reveal."

"That you're a sage?"

"The thing with Jack Frost gave that away?"

"That, and the fact that you can casually warp space. People tend to notice such things." Megumin muttered.

...

"I was born in an island nation called Japan. It is very far away from here."

Darkness noticed that Kazuma's hand had begun tapped a slow beat on the table. He seemed to do that when he got nervous.

"My childhood was normal enough; nothing spectacular or unusual happened until a year ago when I almost died. As it turned out, the old man who saved me was one of the five magicians. He offered to teach me on a whim, and I accepted."

"Well, you're a long way from home, though I suppose you could just teleport back whenever you want." Megumin remarked.

Kazuma closed his eyes briefly. "My parents and I did not part on good terms, and my friends have all moved on."

An uncomfortable silence drifted over them.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Kazuma shifted topics.

"Well, the reason I was sent to Belzerg was to master the applications of the Second Magic. It just so happens that the wielder of the Fourth Magic is also here, messing around in the Demon King's territory, the experiments my kind conduct can have rather severe consequences. I have to find out what she is planning."

"That explains some things, but what exactly is 'Magic', and what makes it different from normal magic?" Megumin asked.

Kazuma leaned back on his chair. _This is going to be a long talk_.

"Well, to understand that, you have to first know what the Akashic Records, also known as the Swirl of the Root, is. In a sense, it is a metaphysical force or place that is the source of all events and phenomena in the universe; an archive of all possibilities and events, past, present, and future, of the world. It is the place from where all souls, originate from and to where they return after death. One is all, and all is one."

Darkness's eyes widened. "So, is it like the mind of God?"

"People have described it like that, yes. It is the ultimate goal for the magi back in my country; to uncover a path to the Root through experiments in magecraft. Those that do, and manage to return without being subsumed, gain Magic, the ability to actualise events that are impossible to produce. As of current, five True Magics exist. The first is the Denial of Nothingness, the ability to create from nothing and return entities to nothing. Heaven's Feel is the third, allowing materialisation of the soul, and therefore resurrections. The fourth I do not know, and the fifth is Blue, governing over entropy."

"The magic wielded by my master Zelretch is called Kaleidoscope, the operation of parallel worlds. It postulates that starting from the Root, everything that could have possibly happened has happened, and more than that, it has happened an infinite number of times across an infinite number of universes. Events repeat infinitely in a cascade of possible and impossible actions and reactions across all of time and space. Any given universe is nothing more or less than the sum total of an infinite number of things happening or not happening in combination. So what doesn't exist in one universe not only exists in another, it always has existed and always will exist, while in yet another universe it will never haven't not existed."

"What."

Kazuma scratched the back of his head. "Basically, the Second Magic allows me to access parallel worlds and allow me to warp space and time. The reason why I never run out of prana is that I take small amounts of it from other worlds."

"Infinite mana?" Megumin's eyes glowed an intense red.

"Your next line is: Can you teach me that?"

"Can you teach me that?!"

"No, not unless I transfer the path over to you."

"Noooooo...my infinite explosions." Megumin slumped to the ground.

"Infinite explosions? Are you trying to destroy the world?!"

* * *

The wraith listened as the adventurers talked.

An unrepentant masochist, an explosion maniac, a goddess and a magician.

An odd bunch, different from the stories of brave knights and wise old mages her father read to her.

But despite their differences and quirks, they managed to work together and have fun.

Even if she couldn't join their adventures, she was happy enough listening to them-

"It's rude to eavesdrop, Alice Filante Margatroid."

The little girl spun around to find a green wand floating beside her.

"Rejoice, for I, Magical Emerald, shall grant you the wish you hold within your heart. If you make a contract with me."

* * *

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 **AN** : The ghost of the little girl is the one who lives in the mansion, referenced in chapter 11. She liked dolls and stories of adventurers.


	25. Premonition

Even with her sensors, it was difficult to make out the girl. If she sharpened her focus, she could barely make out a translucent outline of a figure hanging in the air. Time has eroded and scraped away at the spirit, leaving little more than a voice, if even that.

It was a lamentable existence, to only be able to observe the world and fade away quietly.

"So, what do you think, girl?"

"Ehehehe, can you at least let me think about it, Emerald?" Alice laughed nervously. _Also, you sound reeaallly shady._

"Of course, though this is a one time deal. If you don't accept before tomorrow, I will retract the offer." the kaleidostick hummed.

A flash of light, and the wand was replaced by an illusion of a white, cat-like creature with long, tasselled ears and beady pink eyes.

"Would this form be more preferable? I'm told that young girls like this."

Alice stared at the unmoving face and unblinking eyes and gulped.

"No thank you."

...

"Quack."

Kazuma turned over to the other side of his bed.

"Quack."

He shut his eyes tightly.

"Quack. Beepbeepbeepbeep-"

He still didn't turn around.

 **Boom**.

"Um, boss, why didn't you tell me you rigged a rubber duck with a flashbang?"

"Because you didn't ask. And I bought that from Wiz."

"You bought a rubber duck that explodes after squeezing it three times."

"Yes. It's good that you picked the red one instead of the white duck."

There was a sniffing noise.

"Is this what a parent feels when their child has grown up? I just want you to know that I'm _so_ proud of you." Emerald cried.

"Mmm."

"Hey hey, don't fall asleep on me now. Honestly though, why would you buy such a thing except for pranking purposes? Maybe you have a soft spot for the shopkeeper?"

"Have you seen the income statement and balance sheet for the shop? I would feel guilty every time I go there. It would probably get better once we start marketing out the kotatsu."

Emerald circled above his pillow."You're a real bore sometimes, you know that? You live with four women," Kazuma snorted. "yet nothing exciting has happened. Where's the sexual tension? And you'll probably respond with something like how 'relationships mess up team dynamics', or something. But I know the other reason. Look, I get that the seduction training was pretty harsh, but there are worst first crushes than a shapeshifted Merlin-"

"Stop. I do not harbour any antipathy towards romance, nor is it because of what happened at Clock Tower. I just have bigger things to worry about at the moment."

"Like designing a golem powered by an auto-incant perpetual motion engine fueled with curses? Look, all I'm saying is that you should relax and enjoy the sights while you still can."

Kazuma rose up quickly. "...Are you saying that what we saw in that other reality might come to pass? The thing that subsumed an entire city?"

"Well, that goddess did mention that demons existed alongside undead. Let's just hope they're not as nasty here."

* * *

Next Morning:

"Megumin! Hey, is Megumin here? And, is Kazuma here too?"

Someone was frantically rapping on the front door.

"Here, here! Is that Yunyun? What's the matter, something troublesome? "

Megumin ranted as she opened the door.

Yunyun panted, face red.

"General of the... huff ... Demon King's army. Dropped off... huff ...armour. Crimson Magic Village in danger!"

She handed Megumin a letter.

 _By the time you receive this letter, I probably have already passed on from this world._

 _They have set up an outpost near the village and already sent a general with high magic resistance along with a contingent of soldiers towards the village. A suit of armour has also been seen running around. It seems that the demon king has grown tired of our assaults on the barrier surrounding his territory._

 _My beloved daughter, as long as you live, our clan will live on. Therefore, I entrust the position of village chief to you._

"Pfft. Yunyun, your dad probably got carried away again. You already know how it's almost impossible for him to write a letter without exaggerating every detail." Megumin dismissed, handing the letter back to her fellow mage.

"That's true, but he couldn't have lied about the attack force they sent! It takes three days to travel to Warthford, right? And you'll meet the princess in a week's time? If you bring your party, we'll be able to repel the attack for sure!"

"Relax. I'm sure it will work out. Bukkororii's golems should be able to handle anything resistant to magic, and Eris knows how many he's made since we left."

"Even so, aren't you worried about your family and classmates? What if, by the time you get home, your sister or your parents- " Darkness muttered.

"Thank you, Darkness." Kazuma covered her mouth. "We're leaving today anyway, so might as well take a detour."

"You know, that suit of armour. Could it be that headless guy we fought last time?"

"Don't be stupid Aqua. How can a dullahan turn into a set of animated armour?"

* * *

Elsewhere:

In the wildness separating the kingdoms of Belzerg and Elrich, there was a large lake. Untouched and pristine, it was like the lair of some holy beast. The water was clear and pure, like glass, and the grass that grew around it was all the same perfect shade of green.

The grass and flowers that had grown wildly about the lake had all wilted. In the watery depths, where the light of the sun could not see, strands of darkness spread, growing and reaching up, _escaping_. And he couldn't have that. Allowing a portion of his worldview to extrude from his vessel, he tore the muck apart, sundering it and spreading it flowing upwards to the surface, where the light intensified in pulses and burnt it away.

Eris watched Maxwell drag itself from the lake. The soaked suit and mask were dry in an instant, as effect was negated. "Yee- I've done my part, goddess. It's up to you to seal the gaps."

"I do not need to be reminded, devil. If it weren't for the truce..."

"Yee? You would kill me? Please don't do that, it's very inconvenient. No wonder Vanir wanted me to come in his stead."

She touched the scar on the right side of her cheek.

"Besides, the accord has been upheld. We both use avatars, so there's no need to be so hostile! Oh, and I almost forgot! You should alert your Choir. The number of leakages is only going to increase."

"Do not tell me how to do my job, Maxwell. Now leave."

As the devil left, Eris left out a breath. "I hope you are ready for this, Aqua."

* * *

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 **AN** : Sorry for the long wait. Life has been extraordinarily busy, and a recent bout of writer's block also hit me. I suppose you can call this chapter the end of the first arc, because we'll be getting into the real meat of the story after this. Oh, and a thing about summoned heroes. They all receive the same speech from Aqua about defeating the Demon King and getting one wish granted in exchange. The problem is there is only one Demon King (in the area around Belzerg and it's neighbouring countries at least).


	26. Interlude: Flowering Night

**Elroad**

"Sir, your bath is ready."

She waited, halfway paying attention to the maid walking out of the room. The three men stationed outside were making small talk with the girl. As expected, their coats were padded, enough to slow the edge of a knife. There were baselards sheathed on their hips instead of longswords. Wise, considering the narrow width of the corridors.

In this situation, it was better to dictate the pace by which things occurred.

She turned the corner and purposefully strode up to meet them.

They had been waiting in a semi-lounging state, leaning against the walls. When they spotted her, all three moved to attention, despite her outfit.. Only the prime minister's appointed maid, Clarice, was allowed to be here after all. "This is the wro—" the first one started.

She stepped up her pace. In the narrow corridor, she darted to one side, jumping into the air and rebounding off the wall. She leapt clear over the speaking man and came down onto the larger second with her elbow, striking just above the collarbone. As the big man toppled forward, she brought her leg up, smashing her knee into an extended chin. The blow snapped the man's head back, his neck breaking.

The man she had bypassed spun and the third man moved on his heels, neither one stumbling.

 _One second._

Even before the first man had fallen completely, she moved onto the second, who was spinning toward her assault. She ducked under a right slash. The man overstepped. She moved up to his left, jabbing a knife into his head from behind the right ear.

 _Two seconds._

The last man was rushing towards her, trying to use his larger size to pin her down. She took two steps on the deck, two more along the wall at an angle, then rebounded completely inverted from the ceiling above the head of her target. The man died before his eyes had even fully journeyed upward to react—she drove the knife into the top of his head, flipping forward and wrenching the weapon from the man's body as violently as possible.

She looked at the bodies. One of them was twitching but only momentarily before she smashed the end of a boot into the man's windpipe.

 _Three seconds._

She decided she was two seconds too slow.

The sound of splashing continued from the closed door. Perhaps her target didn't hear the commotion outside? No, it wasn't safe to assume. Opening the door, she saw the nude form of the prime minister climbing out of his bathtub. He opened his mouth to shout. A knife to the chest took care of that. Catching the body, she jammed the blade into the base of his neck and twisted, just to make sure.

Taking the unsealed letter from a pocket in her apron, she placed it upon the prime minister's desk, underneath a pile of other documents. It should be sufficiently incriminating to point the blame towards Lord Adderstone and his faction. Belzerg would get the funding it needs. The air behind her _moved_ , and she dodged. The bleeding body of the man she had killed crashed into the desk, then lurched up and lunged at her. She kicked him hard enough to cave in his face. If he was using some kind of magic to survive, then she would simply destroy the head.

The skull was torn to pieces as she repeatedly smashed it into the ground. Aside from blood and pulped flesh, a black muck seemed to be oozing from the corpse. A thick wad gathered and shot itself at her. She caught it with her left hand and tried to fling it away, but it crawled up her arm, up her face, into her eyes-

It stood up and moved its body. All was going to plan.

That night, Prince Revi of Elroad dreamt of a woman in purple plunging a hand into his innards, and ripping something black out. As he screamed into wakefulness, a part of him couldn't help but feel liberated.

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AN: Dexterity/Agility build


	27. Encounters

As night was about to fall, they made camp on the side of the road.

A fire was not started, as it would be troublesome to attract monsters. Instead, they would sleep in shifts, even if he had established a bounded field around their campsite. It didn't hurt to be cautious after all.

Yunyun and Kazuma took the first watch.

"Ah, there are some monsters lurking around a short distance away from us. Leave it to me, I'll wipe them all out in an instant."

"You don't need to! Actually, what's with you today? You're being unusually aggressive."

"Do you really think so? I mean, thinning out the monsters who are living around the village is also one of the duties of the chief, right? Plus I still have plenty of mana to spare, and I've brought plenty of manatite in case I run out…"

"You're way too into this. Which country are you planning on going to war with by bringing so many chunks of manatite with you? We're a party, so there's no need for you to charge on ahead!"

But Yunyun simply broke out into a huge smile. "Party… Hehe, Ehehe…"

Kazuma shuffled away from her a little.

"Ughhhh, I don't want a mask." Aqua turned in her sleep with a moan.

"…"

The two fell silent, and the sound of her rhythmic breathing started again.

"Speaking of which…" Yunyun whispered–

"The topic we discussed before they slept; you came from a different nation, right? Um. Kazuma, you never thought of going back?" She asked timidly.

"I don't think I will be welcomed back. Besides, my current life isn't too bad. Despite having troublesome companions- no it's because of them that keeps things interesting."

"Is that so? I like my life right now too, so this is good. We get into danger often, but everyone will work together to get through it."

A comfortable silence took hold, and Kazuma was suddenly, acutely aware of how close Yunyun was. _Cute girl, check. Everyone else asleep, check. Unclouded sky, check._ His wand's words came floating back into his head, only to be crushed. Now was not the time for such distractions.

"So Yunyun, why did you declare yourself to be Megumin's rival in the first place?"

The mage went silent for a moment, formulating her answer.

"How do you think Megumin was faring before she joined your party?"

While the archmage hadn't told him, Kazuma could extrapolate. She would have tried to join a party, get invited to a quest, then get ditched as soon as they realised she only knew the explosion spell.

"You know how proud she can be. Being rejected so many times must have hurt."

"So you did this to keep her motivated? Then all these challenges to her... I see."

The rest of the night passed by quickly.

...

"Really, it's all because Kazuma and Yunyun were so noisy last night that I didn't sleep well."

"When it was your turn for the watch you wouldn't get up no matter what, so don't complain. In the end, Darkness took your watch too."

"I was wondering what Kazuma would do to me if I fell asleep mid-way through my shift. My heart was pounding non-stop and I couldn't sleep…" Darkness blushed and looked away.

"I'll accept your challenge. I won't lose to Megumin anymore!"

Rumble.

The ground shook and the trees ahead of them began to sway.

"The two of you shut up! I already told you we'll be discovered if you talk so loudly! Hey Kazuma, tell them!" Darkness had unsheathed her sword and readied herself.

And then a Gundam burst out from the trees. As tall as a house, and covered with white, armoured plates, it was almost an exact replica of the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam that Kazuma remembered visiting in Odaiba.

 _What._

"Still making golems, Bukkoroli? We heard that the village was in danger and rushed back." Megumin waved at the dark-haired man atop the construct.

After hearing Megumin's reply, Bukkoroli tilted his head in confusion.

"By the way Megumin, are they your adventuring comrades?"

In response, Megumin nodded a little shyly.

Seeing her like this, Bukkoroli showed a serious expression and flicked his cape.

"I'm Bukkoroli, top golemancer of the Crimson Demon village!"

Bukkoroli suddenly made a self-introduction.

"Well met, I'm Satou Kazuma, mage."

"I'm Aqua! An existence worshipped by the masses, the one who'll defeat the Demon King! My real identity's the goddess of water!"

No one asked her, but Aqua suddenly introduced herself.

"Ok."

"Wait! Why am I the only one who gets such reactions?"

"I-I'm Dustiness Ford Lala… ti… na… From Axel… Ughh…!"

She wanted to meet their expectations, but Darkness's voice grew softer from embarrassment.

Bukkoroli grinned and started chanting a spell loudly.

"Megumin, I'm glad you have such wonderful comrades. The village is still some ways off. Come, we'll show you in, outsiders. **Teleport**!"

After saying that, Bukkoroli cast his teleport spell.

The scenery changed, morphing into a small, quaint-looking village.

"Welcome to the Crimson Demon village, outsiders. Megumin and Yunyun too, welcome home!"

* * *

Yunyun's father was not what Kazuma expected. Despite holding the position of chief of an entire village of mages, he didn't dress any differently and his office was unostentatious and minimalist. A middle-aged man with a handlebar moustache, Yasuna seemed unassuming.

"No, that's just a letter to my daughter about how things are back home. I got a little carried away when writing it."

"I understand."

Whilst Kazuma resigned himself to the fact that all Crimson Demons hold the sorcery trait of 'chuunibyou', Yunyun was still confused.

"Um, D-Dad? Well, I'm happy that you're okay, but can you explain it in detail? First, at the beginning of the letter you wrote, 'By the time you read this letter, I will probably have already passed on from this world'."

"Isn't that the standard greeting amongst us Crimson Demons? Didn't you learn that in school? Ah, now that you mentioned it, you and Megumin graduated early because your results were excellent."

"And the part about the attack force sent by the Demon King?"

"Ah, that part? Those guys turned out to just be passing through. A bunch of them are at the Succubus Lingerie Pub right now, actually."

"Hey Yunyun, can I punch your father?" Darkness's fist clenched audibly.

"Go ahead."

"Yunyun?!"

"So, the part about the 'Demon King's general was coming' was?"

"A general did come. Cleaned out half of the bar by herself too. Women must have a hell of a liver if she chugs down boosted wine like water."

...

"Well, this is it."

Megumin seemed nervous when they came to a stop outside a small wooden cottage.

Three knocks and the soft sound of someone running came from inside.

A little girl who very much resembled Megumin came out.

"Oh, Megumin's sister, huh? Such a cute kid." Darkness smiled at the girl.

"It feels like a mini Megumin. Hey kid, want some candy?" Aqua took out some strangely shaped sweets, which Komekko took without hesitation.

 _A sweet tooth?_

"Komekko, I'm home. Have you been a good girl?"

Megumin's sister turned stiff and stared at her.

"Dad! Onee-chan brought a man back with her!" Komekko then ran off into the house.

"Right, this is going to take awhile. Wonder if the old man is still..." Megumin began muttering as she followed, waving the others in.

Entering the shop felt to Kazuma like he was back in London. Rows upon rows of equipment lines the shelves and aisles, ranging from what appeared to be grimoires to staffs, blasting rods, and sets of gloves. It was a legitimate artificer's workshop, sans the defences and secrecy. Oh, and there was also an invisible person watching them.

"Presence concealment is in poor taste."

There, standing to the left of the counter – having appeared without sound, without notice, as if she had been there all along – was a mousy, brown-haired girl.

"My apologies, but spooking people never gets dull."

"That's a nice trick you've got there." It takes one to know one after all.

"It is nothing too original. Ah, where are my manners?" She curtsied. "Mælysberry Hearn, magus. Call me Maribel if you wish."

 _Bait._

Kazuma kept his face impassive, but something must have shown because the girl let out a knowing grin.

"What's up with that sour look? If you're worried about getting your crest stolen or whatever, know that I've given up reaching for the Records. You're not going to castigate me on 'abandoning the way', are you?"

"...What makes you think that? In a sense, you could make the argument that the search for the Root is just another kind of escapism. Magi of the modern age imagine it puts them above the so-called rabble, but the truth is it's something they retreat into. An excuse. 'It is the sand we bury our heads in, because the world has outgrown us, and left us behind.' "

"Quoting Crowley? That would be true if only there was nothing at the end of the path. The good Wizard Marshal is living proof, but I desist. They toil with their Ars Magna, the final key to their labours, but for what? An abstract dream of ascension? For a fake sense of a greater good? Obliteration of the self isn't as glamorous as what they believe."

Kazuma nodded. "What about those who pull back before they reach it? Do you think sorcerers get a better deal?"

The girl tilted her head. "In a way. Knowledge has a cost of its own though. I'd imagine recognising the fragility of the underpinnings of the world and how easily it can, will, and did end would change your perspective on life. But this is all just baseless speculation of course."

She shrugged and walked past them. "Well, good day to you. I'm sure we'll meet again; Belzerg is a small place after all."

* * *

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 **AN** : Sorry that this chapter is a bit lacklustre. I'm going to change my writing style for the chapters after this, and try to aim for 3k words on average.

Leave a review if you wish~

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As Lafcadio is to Koizumi, Hearn is to Yakumo. And why continue searching when you already reached the end.


	28. Interlude: Spark

"Explosion!"

A person wearing a low hood calmly chanted the spell. In contrast to her calm tone, the power of the spell was devastating. Without warning, a boom shattered the air and was accompanied by a scorching blast. The b̵̸̢͜͠l̕͡á̶͟c͏͡k̢̕͢͢ ̴͏̡b̴͞e̸̡͝a͘͠s̵̵͢͡t҉ chasing me was easily blown away.

And that's not all. My playground was also completely destroyed by the powerful spell, and all the toys that I worked so hard to gather were blown away.

Overwhelming power that can sweep away anything. The greatest destructive force that was stronger than any other kind of spell. This massive destruction was unleashed by a single mage. _One_ shot was all it took.

What kind of spell could that be? Even the adults in the village have never used something like that before.

The hooded person walked toward the mind-blown and dazed me.

"Are you ok?"

She bent down and peeked at my expression. The robe she was wearing was really rustic, but when she bent down, her plump breasts were displayed prominently. Oh wow, this is awesome. Well, that spell was awesome too, but this is way better!

"How do I become someone like you?" This question just immediately popped out from my mouth. I even forgot to thank her first.

The words that my mom kept repeating recently floated in my mind. 'Our family has always had slender figures. It'd be better if you give up early.' — something like this. I am not gonna give up; not gonna give up until the very end.

* * *

"Megumin."

"…Is that a nickname?"

"It's my real name."

The onee-san fell silent as she tried to calm herself down, and then she said,

"You want to become someone like me? Hmm... if you eat more, learn more, and become an Archmage, I am pretty sure..."

Become an Archmage, then I can have huge breasts!

"Yes. If you become an Archmage, one day you will be able to use that spell. But honestly, I don't really recommend that spell."

Seemed like the hooded person said something else, but I've already fallen into the dream of being an Archmage.

"But…"

The person with the hood patted my head while I kept mumbling 'Archmage, Archmage', and looked around.

"Megumin, did you see any other adults around here? There should be someone who removed the seal. The fragments of the seal are here, and it shouldn't be able to undo itself…"

The person with the hood twisted her head and picked up the fragment beside my feet.

"That person should still be around here. It's a mystery as to who unleashed it. Well, never mind, asking you is not gonna help me figure it out."

While she was talking, she moved to the centre of the giant hole that was created by the spell.

A b̵̸̢͜͠l̕͡á̶͟c͏͡k̢̕͢͢ ̴͏̡b̴͞e̸̡͝a͘͠s̵̵͢͡t҉ was lying at the centre, perceptual static wreathing it. My eyes watered when I looked at it, and my head began to throb painfully.

She put her hand upon it's head.

"Please sleep a little longer, my other half. This world is still too peaceful for you to wake up."

The static tensed, and then flexed, blasting outwards and soaking into the woman.

Meanwhile, the b̵̸̢͜͠l̕͡á̶͟c͏͡k̢̕͢͢ ̴͏̡b̴͞e̸̡͝a͘͠s̵̵͢͡t҉ became smaller and smaller.

Finally, it shrank to the size of a cat, and as its shape became a blur, it disappeared.

"Okay, after this- What are you doing now, little girl?"

I was picking up the toys that were scattered on the ground.

"I am picking up my toys. My family is very poor, these are all I have."

"Ah? No, no. These are not toys. They are used for sealing the beast. They're very important…. Hmm?"

I assembled the fragments I picked up, but some of them are missing.

 _Need three more pieces._

"Onee-san, your spell blew three pieces away, can we look for them together?"

The person with the hood kept stroking her jaw and seemed to be really confused.

"When did you come and play on this restricted area, little girl? Didn't the adults inside the village tell you not to go near here?"

"My mom said that if people tell you 'It's dangerous there' 'There's nothing there' or 'Don't get close to it', that always means there are treasures hidden over there."

"Wha-Whaaaat!"

The person with the hood was frightened and panicked.

After that, she stood beside me and put her hand on my head.

"Well, there are still many things that I don't know, but most likely, I have you to thank. Do you have any wishes, little girl? I might not look like it, but I am actually a mysterious mage with great power. No matter what kind of wish you have, I can make one of them come true."

"Wish?"

"Yes, a wish. No need to hesitate, just say it. No matter what kind of… "

"Can I wish for more-"

"No wishing for more wishes."

I scowled at that.

"Conquer the world."

"Sorry, I can't do that."

The edge of her hood was very low, but I could still see the corner of her mouth twitching.

"Then turn me into a girl with huge boobs."

"N-No, that is impossible too. How old are you? You shouldn't be at the age to worry about such matters."

Looks like this is not gonna work either.

"Turn me into the demon king."

"Sorry, but no. Do you have any other wishes?"

I looked at the fragments on my hand.

"My toy is still missing three pieces. Could you find them for me?"

"I can grant a wish that's a little bigger..."

The person with the hood seemed embarrassed.

Something a little bigger.

Well then—

"Please teach me that spell."

Underneath that hood of hers, the big breasted onee-san seemed to twitch.

"What did you say?"

"I said, please teach me that spell."

The onee-san made a face more troubled than when I said I wished to conquer the world.

More troubled than when I asked for a way to grow my chest.

And even more so than when I asked her to make me into the Demon King.

"Er, that spell… I said it before, didn't I? I really don't recommend that you learn this spell."

"Fine then, can you at least teach me how to catch some crayfish? I want something for dinner."

"Don't look at me so coldly! I can teach you that spell if you really want, I just don't want to because no good will come off it…"

I looked at the onee-san panicking in front of me

"What was the spell you used just now?"

"That spell? It's called Explosion, the so-called strongest spell."

Strongest!

"Some believe it is the ultimate offensive spell that can destroy almost anything."

Ultimate!

"However, learning it requires an enormous amount of skill points, and even if you learn it, you won't be able to cast it if you don't have a massive amount of mana. Even if you can cast it, the mana required would leave you unable to move after a single shot- Hey, are you listening to me?"

"Not at all. Please teach me that spell. I want to cast Explosion."

I grabbed onto the onee-san's robe and started shaking her.

"How did this happen? I just wanted to thank her... but I might have messed up her life instead."

* * *

The onee-san, who's name was Wolbach, asked for a day of rest due to having already cast Explosion, so today is the day she promised to teach it to me.

"Young lady, are you sure you don't want to reconsider?"

We met up at the tomb, before Wolbach took me to an empty plain quite some distance away from the village.

"No, the only spell I want to learn is Explosion."

The mage sighed in response.

"Well, I'm only teaching you the spell. It should take you about ten years to learn it, so you'll probably give up sometime along the way."

"Never! I will learn it for sure! Just you watch!"

Even though she frowned after hearing my answer, Wolbach nevertheless started slowly reciting the chant of the explosion spell.

"Right, that's the chant to Explosion. First let's see if you can memorize-"

Before she could finish her words, I flicked my cloak and-

"The true crimson god of destruction, Megumin, hereby commands! With my authority, manifest the power to render all creation to ash before me!"

"What kind of chant is that!? What's that about god of destruction or authority or what not? I definitely didn't say any of that!"

Thus, from that day onwards, I spent my days learning magic from that onee-san.

* * *

"Young lady, I really don't think you should add your own lines to the chant when performing magic. Your lines do sound cool, but that isn't Explosion any more."

"I'm a Crimson Demon, so I want to add a Crimson Demon flair to it."

Persuading me not to add my own lines to the chant.

"Young lady, don't strike a pose. If you make that kind of pose, the spell will end up flying all over the place."

"Bukkororii told me that a Crimson Demon who achieves victory without striking a pose is no true Crimson Demon."

"That person is knocked in the head, don't listen to him."

Correcting my posture while channelling magic

"Look, this is the advanced magic spell 'Inferno'! It's a powerful spell that creates a large blaze and incinerates the entire area. What do you think? Do you want to learn this instead?"

"Not at all. Anyway, hurry up and cast Explosion! I want to see today's Explosion!"

"Young lady, Explosion isn't a firework, you know? Even if you learn it, you can't just set it off whenever you want."

"No, I will."

Wolbach was frequently left on the verge of tears as she tried to persuade me, who continued to stubbornly cling to Explosion.

"Young lady, advanced magic and teleport is a very potent combination that can deal with most enemies."

"Explosion!"

"If you use the spell Light of Saber, you can cut apart anything if you have enough mana-"

"Explosion!"

"Okay, instead of Explosion, how about learning Blast or Detonate? They're both pretty strong spells in their own right-"

"Explosion!"

"Please, listen to me!"

My magical instructor finally snapped and burst into tears as I practised my cool lines.

* * *

"I don't want to learn anything other than Explosion! I don't care how many years it takes. Even if I have to practice until I become an old lady, I will not give up until I learn Explosion."

"Say, just what exactly it is about Explosion that made you so obsessed with it?"

 _Because I don't want to be helpless. I want to be like you on that day, to be powerful enough to crush fear with absolute confidence._

"Before the actual training starts, there's something I wanted to show you. But it's really big and scary, and you're a child, so I shouldn't force you to come along."

"My mom's really scary, so it's fine."

Wolbach actually laughed for once.

"The thing I was talking about is several times scarier than your mother, you know?"

"Really?! When my dad went out to borrow money for his strange inventions, my mom paralysed his body from the head down and threw him out into the forest as he cried. It's scarier than that?"

"Oh right, your mother should also be a Crimson Demon. If she's anything like you, then she'll probably be just as scary as that."

Something that is as scary as mom…

"Are we going to see the Demon King or an evil god?"

"Just how scary is your mother? And why are your eyes glowing? Are you interested in the Demon King or evil gods?"

I nodded.

"After I defeat the Demon King, I will take on his title and become the next Demon King!"

"You can't do that! It's not something you can become just by defeating the current king!"

After saying that, Wolbach looked away from me.

"And evil gods usually don't have very pleasant lives."

She said, a strange smile playing on her lips.

* * *

The forest bordering the outskirts of the village is usually forbidden to me as it contains numerous strong monsters.

"Young lady, I think we should go back! It was my fault, please listen to me!"

"The liver and stomach of a one-strike bear are worth a lot of money! I don't know why they're so afraid of us, but this is a wonderful opportunity! If we catch one, we can eat it for dinner!"

We ended up chasing a pack of cowardly one-hit bears who were running away from us in fear for some reason.

I've been eating nothing but crayfish for some time, so the prospect of having a different sort of meat for dinner is really appealing.

"Wait, I only brought you here because I wanted to teach you that advanced magic is much better for dealing with dangerous monsters! I didn't come here to hunt one-hit bears!"

"No problem. I don't feel like I'll lose to anyone right now. I'm sure my abilities as the god of destruction will appear in the heat of battle!"

"Why are the Crimson Demons so… are they like this from the moment they are born?"

Wolbach started chanting her magic after sighing deeply.

"Freeze Gust!"

A white powder burst from onee-san's hands and enveloped all the one-hit bears, rendering them motionless.

"Oh, I think that this can be made into a new attraction if we bring it back to the village."

"No way am I letting you do that! This is just to show you that there are other, better, stronger spells out there!"

Looking at the frozen pack of one-hit bears who could do nothing except whine pitifully, Wolbach let out a rare smile.

"What I just used was the intermediate magic Freeze Gust. See? With enough mana, even intermediate magic can be a powerful weapon. This requires much less mana than Explosion. If you use advanced magic and intermediate magic strategically, I'm sure you'll be able to become one of the best mages- young lady, what are you doing?"

She hurriedly moved in front of me as I approached the pack with a large stick.

"It's a rare chance to have a herd of high-level monsters lying helpless, so I'm going to finish them off and earn some experience points. The people in the village often use this method to power level. They freeze them up like this and finish them off, and some even raise monsters specifically for this."

* * *

These happy days continued for quite a while.

But in time, it looked like my teacher finally started to get restless.

"Young lady, can I ask you something?"

"What is it? I'm not telling you where the crayfish nest is, so don't ask."

"Don't worry, I don't want to know that. Say, Crimson Demons have their adventurer cards made when they're born right? Then, can onee-san take a look at your card?"

Hearing this, I tried to hide the card that was originally in my robe pocket.

Wolbach once again sighed after seeing this.

"I knew it. Explosion already appeared in your learnable skills hasn't it?"

"No, I am a slow learner, so I need a lot more time to learn something like that."

She raised her hand towards me.

"Paralyse."

As expected, I found that I couldn't move at all.

"What, you want to have your way with me while I can't move? I will call for help when I get back to the village! When I get back I report to my mom and dad that an onee-san with big breasts and yellow eyes kidnapped me. S-stop! Stop!"

"I just wanted to see your adventurer card! Please don't tell people about me!"

As much as I wanted to resist, I couldn't move a muscle, and my card was easily taken from me.

Wolbach negated her spell once she took my card, and started reading it in a low voice.

"Explosion is under learnable skills. The other skills that I showed you are here as well? How can you call yourself a slow learner? You learnt all these after just seeing them just once!"

Seeing me cross my arms and look away, she made a troubled expression.

"Young lady, I still have things I need to do and places I need to visit. Now that I have taught you Explosion, it's about time that we part ways."

"I don't wanna! If onee-san leaves, I won't be able to see Explosions anymore!"

Hearing that, Wolbach bent down to my eye level.

"Didn't you say you will learn Explosion for sure? You'll see it again once you learn it."

She gave me a gentle smile.

"Then it's time to for us to part. It'd be dangerous to go further from the village, so there's no need to see me off. I don't really approve of this, but in the end, it's your life. I won't stop you, it's up to you to make your own decisions from now."

We didn't spend that much time together, but I enjoyed every day that I spent with onee-san.

I got to eat great food, hunt powerful monsters, and see many different types of spells.

"If the day ever comes that you learn explosion magic, I would really want to see it for myself."

"Then don't forget about me before that day comes."

"I don't think I could forget about you even if I wanted to. Your unusual name, all the things you did, and your aptitude for magic. You should try and lead a peaceful life from now on."

The person who cast that spell for me many times, the spell that I fell in love with…

"My goal is to defeat the Demon King, so I can't promise you that I'll lead a peaceful life, but I can promise you that I'll definitely show you my Explosion, so-"

As if she knew what I was about to say, Wolbach gave me a wry smile.

"Could I please see onee-san's Explosion one last time?"


	29. Duel

"It is nothing too original. Ah, where are my manners?" The thing curtsied.

Aqua grit her teeth, seeing through the falsehood wrapped around it.

 _This is wrong._

It is something that should not exist. A spiral that reflects its sphere of boundary infinitely within itself. A snake biting its own tail, delineating the circle. A collection of edges and thresholds defining each other. It can't be real. It is something that looks like a human but _is not,_ something that acts like a human but _is not,_ something that speaks like a human but _is not,_ it is something that is but should not be and it is unnatural and _wrong-_

Aqua turned her eyes away from the thing masquerading as a woman.

Just looking at it makes her feel sick.

Everything about it is _wrong._

It shouldn't exist.

How could they not _see_ -

They did not, but they felt it nevertheless.

Megumin's grip around her staff tightened, and Darkness's hand had started creeping towards the hilt of her sword.

The light falling through the windows began to turn oddly as space rippled in miniscule ways. Aqua caught the glint in Kazuma's eye.

And then the woman simply walked out.

"What. Was. That?"

"Oh, did that weird woman come again?" Komekko poked her head out from the back of the store.

Two steps and Kazuma lowered himself to face Megumin's sister.

"Komekko, this is very important. Do you remember what that lady bought?"

"...Do you have any more of that candy?"

Kazuma took out a stack of them from his cloak. He caught the warning look in Aqua's eyes, guessed her question, then shook his head. Projecting food to eat was one of the stupidest things to do unless it is used as a tool of assassination, and even then it can be easily detected by a sufficiently paranoid magus. When the projection finally wears off, the World will attempt to correct the molecules taken by the body and put to use, resulting in symptoms not dissimilar to extreme radiation poisoning as cells are torn apart by suddenly-missing atoms.

"A few portable barriers. Usually, she just comes to discuss magic theory with dad."

 _Again, barriers. What could a Sorceror be trying to accomplish? An experiment involving Spatial Refounding or a derivative field is possible but utterly pointless since the Age of Gods has yet to end here. And the allusions to other magi. Could be a warning that there are others out here or a red herring? Does she intend to use us to get rid of a problem for her? As leverage? Or she is like her colleague Zelretch and did this to 'provide entertainment', but instead is used to subliminally manoeuvre us into taking one course of action over another several months or years down the line?!_

* * *

Megumin's father stared at the young man before him with a stern expression.

At a glance, he looked like a normal middle-aged man with black hair, but his sharp eyes had been emitting an oppressive pressure. But that was good because it showed that he cared for his daughter. It was good because it wasn't the cold, dead gaze of his own father.

"… Thanks for taking care of my daughter. I express my sincere gratitude for that." Hyoizaburo bowed lightly.

Beside him was a beautiful lady who resembled Megumin, with a head of black hair and slight wrinkles on the corner of her lips and eyes.

"My daughter has troubled you very much. I learned much about Kazuma-san from the letters she sent back." Megumin's mother, Yuiyui-san bowed deeply toward him.

"It's no burden. Megumin has been a great help to us."

Komekko had Megumin off somewhere, and Aqua and Darkness were engrossed in a rather intense game of poker. He would be getting no assistance from them.

"Well then. What's your relationship with my daughter?" Hyoizaburo stiffened his face.

"I've already said it many times, we're just normal friends and comrades."

After Hyoizaburo heard that, he looked as if he couldn't bear it anymore, moving quickly to the table where Aqua was performing and reached out.

"What did you say?!"

"Don't flip and damage the table! Our finances are really tight this month!"

The mind of a Crimson Demon mage was a strange thing indeed.

Hyoizaburo sipped the tea his wife made for him and sighed.

"Pardon me, I was too agitated. All because you kept playing dumb and saying you're just friends."

 _Because that's all we are._ Time to change the topic.

Kazuma took out the wrapped bottle of wine.

"A simple gift for your hospitality."

At that instant, Hyoizaburo and his wife grabbed the package I was handing over at the same time.

"… My dear, this is a gift from Kazuma-san to me. Let go."

"Oh, really now hubby. You were just addressing him rudely as 'you', and you suddenly change it to 'Kazuma-san' after seeing the gift, just how thick-skinned are you?"

Kazuma drank his tea and pretended that everything was normal.

"From the letters sent by my daughter, I thought the two of you were close, right…?" the madam smiled warmly at him.

"What do you mean by 'be with your daughter'? Didn't I just explain that we're just friends? May I ask what was written on the letters?"

"Well, she wrote about how she always gets covered in smelly goo, and how big the blast of your explosions are." Yuiyui coughed.

"A simple misunderstanding. The quests we take can get rather unusual at times."

"The letter also states many things about you and your comrades. Well, do you still have a lot of debt? This concerns the team my daughter's in. We want to help, too, but we're not that well off…"

She said apologetically…

"Ah, no, the debt's already been cleared. If sales for those air conditioning units goes well, we should be able to get a large amount of money after this trip, so there are no problems."

And so the pseudo-interrogation went on.

* * *

Written on the flashy pink sign hanging above the entryway were the words 'Succubus Lingerie Pub'.

Since there's an actual Succubus service in Axel, it wouldn't be too surprising for there to be such stores outside of Axel too. What was unusual was why a general of the Demon King's army would visit such a place.

"Sorry, the bar is closed for today."

Contrary to that statement, the establishment was filled with people.

A suit of black armour and a woman were sitting on stools, while the local mages were standing a good distance away, wands and staffs aimed at them.

"Oi, Nerimaki! Give me another refill! You sure you don't want some?"

"I'm metal. Does it look like I can drink?" The voice sounded familiar.

Tucking a strand of brown hair behind one ear, the dark-skinned woman glared at the armour.

"Didn't stop you when you lost your head, so why should it now?"

With the speed of a striking snake, she was on him, one hand twisted around the helmet and prying open the visor while the other grabbed a mug of beer.

The armour reacted in an instant, metal creaking as one hand grabbed the woman's neck while the other drew the greatsword from his back, striking her head.

The front part of her head and most of her neck had been crushed, but there was no blood. Instead of flesh, a viscous mixture, like black clay, laid beneath skin, congealing and knitting back together in a few seconds.

"Well, you were never _this_ touchy before." she muttered, not the slightest bit bothered by the near decapitation.

"And your sense of humour is still shitty, Sylvia."

Only then did the two spot the new arrivals.

"Ah, Kaleidoscope and friends."

"We have names you know."

"My job here is done. Take care of Beldia will you? He bitches a lot if his joints get rusty. And... this should cover the cost of the roof." Sylvia continued on as if she hadn't heard Megumin.

She took out a small bag of coins, then _shifted_. Soft skin hardened into chitin, and structures similar to muscles and tendons burst forth and extended. A fly the size of a carriage, with six wings and seven mouths, burst through the roof of the bar and shot into the sky.

 _Mass discrepancy, but how? Possible suppression effect?_

With a clank, the armour stood up, the sound ringing in a way that indicated that nothing was inside. A suit of possessed armour, instead of a Dullahan.

"Well, I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but first-" The helm tilted in Darkness's direction.

"I request a duel between Lalatina of House Dustiness and myself."

* * *

"It's just the male ego talking. He's still sore about his defeat earlier and wants to save face by doing this." Aqua was rather resolute in her judgement.

Kazuma sighed. "That may be the case, but it can't be the sole reason. All this feels deliberate. Planned."

"So this is supposed to be a demonstration of some sort?" Megumin narrowed her eyes at the figures readying themselves on the field.

"Perhaps, or to manoeuvre us into a certain position. We can't be sure until we question Beldia."

The crowd suddenly hushed as the two met in the middle, facing each other.

Darkness made for a rather intimidating sight, dressed in full plate. Equipped with a longsword and a white tower shield, she completed the crusader image.

The black knight had forgone a shield, instead, wielding a weapon nearly too big to be called a sword. Massive, thick and heavy, it was made for cleaving through the armour of knights as well as their mounts.

"I must say," Beldia began with a light tone. "You seem rather eager for this."

"It's a rare opportunity to test myself against a skilled foe," Darkness responded in kind. "I want to see how I fare without support from my companions."

From what she had experienced the last time they fought, going on the offensive was likely impossible. Beldia was faster, more agile, and more skilled than her. It would have to be defensive, to bait him into a range where her low accuracy would be mitigated.

"Shall we?"

They slammed into each other like landslides, the ground shaking and cracking with the impact. Between the warriors, however, Darkness was most definitely the stronger, and earth cracked around Beldia's feet as he struggled to hold up against the crusader's strength.

The armour somehow gave an impression of grinning. "Been a long time since I found someone stronger than me."They stood still for a split second before Beldia continued his attack, transitioning into a slash in the opposite direction. It was blocked readily by Darkness's tall shield, and she retaliated by lashing out.

Beldia stepped expertly to the right and began his offensive.

The enormous blade in his hands became a blur as he rained down blows onto his opponent's shield. Darkness blocked the blows without hesitation, her shield barely moving despite the power behind each slash. If she faltered for even a moment, then she would be open.

Taking a gamble, Darkness thrust out her shield in a bash, connecting solidly with Beldia.

As expected, the possessed armour barely faltered before recovering.

His blade slashed up, so close to her ear she could feel a few strands of hair sliced through, but it did not touch flesh; her own sword slashed out in reply, aiming for the seams of Beldia's blackened armour. He snapped his elbow down on the flat of the weapon, lowering the strike to collide with solid metal instead of the weak point she had been aiming for, piercing only a bare inch, never touching his body… and trapping the weapon, however briefly, while his greatsword descended again.

Her own armour could not block a strike from that blade and she did not have enough time to block with her shield. If one cannot block, one must dodge. If one cannot dodge, then one must make the blow survivable. So she did something that no swordsman would ever expect her to willingly do: she released her grip on her sword, leaping back.

Beldia's sword slashed down through the space she had vacated, striking up a gale that sent the ribbon in her hair flying from the sheer force of it, and Darkness smiled. With a burst of strength, she leapt up and slam her armoured knee into his helmet.

Beldia was caught off his guard when he was essentially struck in the face by a speeding truck, the product of her prodigious strength. He was sent tumbling backwards, his armour clanging with each impact as he skipped along the ground like a hurled stone. She reached down to lift her fallen sword back into her grip, even as her enemy slid to his feet, armoured boots striking up dirt.

"Very good. You have improved much from our last fight." Beldia praised, readying himself once more.

Darkness decided to initiate this time around. Her shield led the way and Beldia had to dodge to the side to avoid the shield bash. She took the chance to strike out with his sword, slashing twice in quick succession.

Beldia blocked the two augmented slashes with his own sword. Retaliating with several strikes of his own, the swordsman forced Darkness back onto the defensive, setting the pace once again. If he had been a fast before, now he was a hurricane. The speed of each attack was insane, experience and skill allowing him to strike at both her _and_ deflect her sword strokes with perfect precision. If this continued, she would lose. The gap in their skills was simply too high. It was hard to predict her opponent's attacks, while all of her openings were being read.

Then perhaps… a fake opening would do?

The shift was subtle, but Beldia didn't miss it. Darkness's eyes narrowed, her balance changed and her guard changed as well.

Yet her openings, different as they might have been from before, were still glaringly obvious. Adeptly he went for these new holes in his opponent's guard. A thrust towards the throat was predictably deflected. Darkness's ability was at least good enough to sustain the first layer of his offense but faltered from the second layer onward.

With sword arm still stretched out, Beldia twisted it in a way that would have broken it if it were still flesh, seeking the weak point - and was instead met by a defence like a steel wall. Darkness's shield had moved into the way of the blow, efficiently closing the previously wide-open gap.

Beldia didn't give himself time to be surprised and went straight for the next opening and from there to the next one.

Again and again and again he sought the obvious weaknesses and an equal amount of times his attacks failed, which served only, he realized in hindsight, to open his own guard to a counterattack.

Unable to predict her opponent's moves because of their disproportionate levels of ability, Darkness took control of the flow of the battle by offering openings of her own choice, exposing herself to even the odds. It was a dangerous way of fighting, reckless to the point of idiocy. Yet, in spite of that, the crusader had reached him, much to his disbelief, through sheer conviction alone.

Almost.

Before a slash could actually connect, Beldia caught the sword with a gauntlet, mere millimetres from the landing point, before using all of his strength to land a crushing blow that ripped both sword and shield from Darkness's hand, sending her tumbling across the field.

* * *

"Ugh," Darkness moaned happily, twisting her back in pain. "That didn't go very well."

"… No," Beldia replied after a moment of pondering silence. "It was certainly an ineffective attempt but the theory was not wrong. Controlling the flow of the battle like you did is certainly an effective way to achieve victory but it isn't something that can be mastered in a single try. However, there should be no need for me to say how reckless this fake opening style actually is, Lalatina. Do you realize that?"

"Yeah," the blonde groaned, dragging herself to a seated position. "Do you think I should drop it?"

"No, polish it until you can confidently control the direction of your opponent's attacks, and only then develop your counters. Furthermore, being able to predict your opponent is still a necessity for you."

As Darkness pondered his words, Kazuma walked over to them.

"So, what now?"

"Now I can tell you what the Demon King's army has been trying to accomplish. What do you know about The Creation War?"

* * *

.

.

.

 **AN** : Fabro Rowan


	30. Histoires (I)

**Records of the** **Aedem Bellonae datus** **: Book of Purgation – Abbreviated Excerpt**

 _ **Unlike the**_ ** _Decreta_** _ **, which is a collectively-updated manual in technical prose concerning the abilities and weaknesses of demons, this record is a chronicle in the narrative style, similar to the**_ ** _Ùmhlachd_** _ **.**_

...and as years turned to decades, and decades to centuries, the fledgeling nation of Elrich blossomed under the care of their patron goddess, She-Who-Cleanses **[Archaic title of the diety Wolbach.]** , who gathered and took on the collective misfortune and sins of her subjects. But even a goddess cannot shoulder such a terrible weight and remain unchanged. As her burden grew heavier and heavier, the impurity began to leak out of the goddess, despite her efforts. Unwilling to harm the people under her protection, Wolbach told her worshippers to seek her fellow deities to inform them of her plight, then secluded herself away in the mountains, where the sin within her grew rampant and spiralled out of control. Trees blackened and withered away, rivers slowed into pools of filth, and the ground beneath her feet broke and would not bear life for a hundred years. There, solitude became her only friend and confidant.

The god of war, His-Swift-Impetuous-Augustness **[Archaic title of Haramenzen]** was still recovering from the grievous wounds suffered from his battle with the Moon, and so was not able to assist. However, Her Augustness the Auspicious One, She-Who-Weaves Light, in whose precepts lie the fortunate rains of bountiful harvest... **[Archaic title of Eris. Remaining titles/honorifics omitted for brevity.]** and She-Whose-House-Is-Water **[Archaic title of Aqua** **]** came to Wolbach's assistance...

 **[...]**

...did the curses take on the ideas of a beast **[This word is used euphemistically, in the sense of 'concepts', not actual thoughts.]** , and obtained a shape. It was an accursed thing, whose fangs destroyed whatever it touched, whose roar clawed away at minds, whose breath blemished everything in range. It hated itself as much as it hated the world...

 **[...]**

And so they fought as incarnations of scorching light, of the tempestuous wind that rips apart stone, and as the falling rain and the devouring waves that drown islands, and of the foul darkness lurking in the heart of man. Waves that reached to the heavens tore darkness apart, spreading it flowing outwards and through its waters, and darkness fell upon it in kind, rending and deforming it, while light and wind ripped and rent, even as they were smothered...

 **[...]**

...did the battle end. Aqua trapped the remaining corruption in water, while Eris dragged Wolbach out. Once she had recovered, the goddesses conferred with each other and came to an accord. A vessel was constructed, and the curses sealed within, whereupon it was buried under a mountain until time erodes malevolence away. It would, however, be opened once more when the Wearer of the Anguished Mask descended upon Belzerg. **  
**


	31. Histoires (II)

**Ùmhlachd : The Creation War** **– Abbreviated Excerpt**

...disregarding the dire warnings of his mentor, Belafyre's hubris was too great and he continued his quest to discover the truth of the world's concepts. His unwavering resolve drove him to search far and wide until he managed to learn the Names of all things. These were not merely words that carried meaning; but meaning borne into sound, which is not at all the same thing – it is the same difference between a man that wears a fox mask and the fox itself. Steeling his will, Belafyre invoked the Name of the Dēmiourgos. That Name called it into – or beside – or through the world; no other power or conception could do such a thing.

The Dēmiourgos is not a singular entity, but a Law unto itself. It is a thing which destroys that which it takes notice of only by the weight of its regard and existence. The turning of its thought toward Belafyre crushed and erased his very existence – as the sun erases snow or ice by its simple gaze.

 **[...]**

The world itself prevented the Dēmiourgos's Law from emanating, maintaining a constant eroding pressure upon it. To counter this, the shadow of the Dēmiourgos's intent manifested in the form of devils, terminals of its will. Together, they swiftly descended upon Haxxor and the kingdom was devoured in four days and nights.

 **[...]**

Schweinorg was finally convinced of the severity of the problem, so he and Einzbern cast a great ritual that temporarily sent the entire region of Golgari into another world to ensure their safety...

 **[...]**

...reached the western borders of Temur when the gods intervened. It was Haramenzen who attacked first, taking the form of a gargantuan armoured shape that eclipsed the sun, a behemoth comprised of broken arms and shattered walls. The battle bought fire and lightning, and the sea was boiled and fell later as rain, and mountains scorched...

 **[...]**

Aqua raised her hand, and the ocean rose with it. A wall of water stretching from horizon to horizon, stretching from sea level to far above the clouds. The light shot by Eris continued to strike through the wave, refracted at angles to pass through the gaps...

 **[...]**

Gevurah bravely endured. Undeterred, The White Lord, Wearer of the Diligent Mask, cut and forced its way into her, poisoning her essence, so that truth might flee from her lips and her labours might never be fruitful. Puppeting her body, it sewed discord into the assembled ranks...

 **[...]**

Enraged by the desecration of his attendant, Haramenzen's lapse of attention allowed The Yellow Lord, Wearer of the Odious Mask to age half of his body into dust. With the last ounces of his dying strength, the fundament was rent by Haramenzen's sword, which was itself iron and rage, and so did he demolish Mount Akai into dirt and earth and which burned and froze as they were bade, which broke the clouds with their passage, and were scattered to the winds, and which fell as blood-red snow upon the earth...

 **[...]**

By tethering his own soul to them, Einzbern enforced humanity upon the devils and broke the hold of the Dēmiourgos over them.

 **[...]**

...a racing storm of air and water, lightning and sulphur. A force that had screamed across the face of the world and poured down all the seeds of mortality and buried the barren hell that was the truth of the world. But even that was not enough to seal the Dēmiourgos. Schweinorg then stepped forth and drew upon all of his might, breaking apart space and banishing the Dēmiourgos into the void between worlds. The strain of bringing forth a miracle immolated his very existence.

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 **AN** : Getting the last two chapters out was like squeezing blood from a stone.

It has been two years since this story got published, so would you like a short summation of what has happened so far? If so, I will include one at the start of the next chapter.


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